Trust counsel associate

First State Trust Company

Trust Counsel Associate

Location: Wilmington, DE (not in the city) or West Palm Beach, FL

Schedule: Full-Time & Hybrid

About First State Trust Company

First State Trust Company (“FSTC”) is a Delaware chartered trust company with offices in Wilmington, Delaware, and West Palm Beach, Florida. FSTC is rapidly growing. This position is a new add to staff, as the entire FSTC team continues to grow.

Since 1982, FSTC has been providing corporate trust, custody, and administration services to trust clients. Formerly known as Citi Institutional Trust Company and dating back to its roots as E.F. Hutton Trust Company, FSTC has concentrated its focus on strategic alliances with world-class financial service firms. Our strategic alliances allow clients to take advantage of FSTC’s independent professional trust administration services, combined with the investment management services of their chosen provider.

Position Responsibilities

FSTC is looking for a Trust Counsel Associate to deliver high quality service and solutions. The candidate must demonstrate proper effort, attitude and discipline to work in a growing and fast paced company. This person must be service and solutions oriented to effectively assist the company and develop and maintain relationships with internal staff and other interested parties.

Key Responsibilities

• Review requests for legal analysis, identify legal issues involved, verify that all relevant information is included, and prioritize requests accordingly.
• Assist with the preparation and review of trust and estate documents.
• Draft standard trust instruments, including, but not limited to:

-Removal and appointment instruments

-Nonjudicial settlement agreements

-Investment and distribution direction letters

-Receipt, Release, Refunding and Indemnification Agreements

• Conduct legal research and analyze governing documents, statutes, rules, and regulations.
• Communicate with internal staff, attorneys, and other professionals as needed.

Knowledge & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 5-7 years of experience in estate planning and/or trust administration.
• Strong drafting skills and familiarity with standard trust and estate instruments.
• Experience with discretionary trusts and directed trusts is strongly preferred.
• Experience with Title 12 of the Delaware Code is strongly preferred.
• Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to manage multiple matters concurrently.
• Demonstrate efficiency and flexibility in performing tasks and assignments with frequently changing priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced work environment.
• Partner with other functional areas to accomplish objectives.
• Attend to details while maintaining a big-picture orientation.
• Interpret and apply policies and identify and recommend changes as appropriate.
• Work with minimal oversight, make non-routine decisions and bring complex problems to management for guidance.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with all organizational levels.