Description

Manage the trust and estate gift program; serve as a key resource for FGA on all trusts and estate matters; assist donors and professional advisors in understanding, planning and executing charitable strategies; track activity for estate and other planned gifts; and oversee donor recognition for Legacy and Gift Planning; and direct Development Coordinator, Legacy and Gift Planning regarding data entry, estate administration files, and tracking legacy notifications.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong foundational understanding of estate planning techniques, annuities, wills and trust arrangements.
• Able to compile, analyze, interpret and integrate complex legal and financial data into clear, concise and informative reports, correspondence, and other written materials.
• Proven ability to handle highly confidential, difficult, and sensitive estate situations with sound judgment.
• Able to work effectively with all levels of the organization.
• Strong interpersonal skills; able to act as a highly professional, polished administrative face of the department to external attorneys, trustees, and families.
• Demonstrated experience with expert decision-making skills.
   

Essential Functions

• Provide administrative oversight for all estate execution activities. Open, organize, and monitor trust and estate files, including pending probate cases and legal actions. Manage all related correspondence with attorneys, executors, and personal representatives to keep cases moving efficiently.
• Communicate with attorneys, personal representatives and other estate planning professionals to monitor progress of probate and trust termination processes, to resolve issues, and/or to thank them for bequests and other gifts they have referred to Seattle Children's. Partner closely with the Senior Director, Legal Counsel, and the Finance Department to protect the organization’s financial and legal interests. Proactively escalate complex issues or estate litigation risk to General Counsel and the Gift Acceptance Committee. Provide revenue and cash-flow projections based on pending estate distributions.
• Maintain and update reports on irrevocable gifts, bequest commitments and notifications, open estates, and other indicators of success on a monthly basis. Provide analysis, historic tracking and observations on planned gifts. Maintain and organize donor and estate files - both hard files and electronic files - as well as maintain detailed actions and notes in donor database.
• Create proposal illustrations for donor's tax, income and other financial benefits from charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, charitable lead trusts, Life Insurance gifts and other planned giving strategies. Be a resource for planned giving vehicles and keep apprised of changes that impact planned giving options. Prepare gift annuity agreements, deferred pledge agreements, and required tax disclosures. Provide the appropriate language for bequest provisions to professional advisors and donors. Prepare other correspondence on charitable strategies as necessary.
  Prepare acknowledgments for planned gifts. Maintain flawless data integrity by recording, tracking, receipting, and acknowledging planned gifts. Act as the team's subject matter expert on how complex gift types are coded, tracked, and reported. Generate accurate monthly reports on irrevocable gifts, bequest commitments, and realized estate income.
• Support overall donor stewardship by checking recognition lists for absolute accuracy, making check-in phone calls, and assisting with logistics to ensure successful team events and advisor outreach.
• Provide guidance on revenue projections for realized estate gifts and expected expenses related to estate administration and complex gift planning to Senior Director, Legacy and Gift Planning and other Foundation colleagues.
• Attend trainings and seminars to stay abreast of legacy and gift planning trends and techniques.

Requirements

Required Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
At least five (5) years experience in estate planning, financial planning, or as a legal assistant/paralegal.

Preferred
Certified paralegal or equivalent advanced certification in law, financial planning or gift planning.
Training in charitable strategies and software applications.