Articles, insights and analysis.

When a long-hoped for dream in major league baseball didn’t pan out, Mark Meyers found himself in search of a new direction. Fortunately, his professors at Central Michigan University helped him focus on his other talents and introduced him to personal finance. Watching his dad put three boys through college had shown him the value […]

In addition to the seven new hires and role changes announced last month, Greenleaf Trust is pleased to share six new hires. Please join us in celebrating the following additions: Valerie Martin joins Greenleaf Trust as a team service coordinator on the client centric team. She is responsible for providing administrative support, day-to-day servicing of […]

Greenleaf Trust has been recognized for diversity initiatives as a Diversity Focused Company by Corp! Magazine, as well as a Cool Place to Work by Crain’s Detroit Business. The diversity award from Corp! Magazine recognizes Greenleaf Trust’s success in: defining and monitoring diversity; demonstrating how diversity adds value; committing to diversity among its workforce and […]

Human resources coordinator receives CHRS Certification Human resources coordinator T’Ausia Bronson has earned the Certified Human Resources Specialist (CHRS) certification from Michigan State University, the premier certification for HR professionals and managers who want to add greater value through a thorough understanding of human resources management. T’Ausia is primarily responsible for a variety of administrative, […]

The very nature of our business requires that we have a thirst for research and a constant desire to understand whatever is impacting our economic, domestic and geopolitical systems. We always approach that discovery from our clients’ side of the desk. What might our clients be reading or listening to? As a result of their […]

Recently updating our estate plan made me think about the actual implementation of the plan. After all, successful plans require attention and thoughtful execution. Do we want to burden our boys with it? If so, should we? Our plan isn’t complicated, but will they actually know what to do? How long will it take? How […]

Taking financial markets by surprise, Chinese authorities announced that the ride-hailing platform, Didi, was to be banned from app stores in China. This effectively severed the company’s ability to add new users within the country. Didi, the Chinese equivalent to Uber, received this unwelcome news just two days after going public on the New York […]

One of the fundamental duties of a trustee is to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed with regard to the trust’s existence and administration. That could be soon changing in Michigan. The Michigan Trust Code imposes broad disclosure requirements on a trustee. Specifically, the Michigan Trust Code provides that a trustee must keep a qualified trust beneficiary […]

The facts are astounding. The figure now exceeds 43 million student borrowers, who are in debt by an average of $39,351 each. In an effort to attain a bachelor’s degree, the average public university student borrows at least $30,000. And now, the largest it has ever been, the outstanding Federal Loan Portfolio of $1.56 trillion […]

The basic federal estate tax exclusion amount (often referred to as the estate exemption) is the amount a person can pass to their heirs tax-free through lifetime gifting or at death. Currently, the exclusion is $11.7 million per person, which means a married couple can pass a combined $23.4 million to their heirs without any […]