Greenleaf Trust is pleased to share Financial Accounting Analyst Marisol Quiroz’s successful completion of her Certified Public Accountant designation. To earn the CPA designation, Marisol completed her Masters in Accountancy at Western Michigan University, passed all four sections of the CPA exam and had to demonstrate her abilities over at least 2,000 hours of application. […]

Greenleaf Trust is pleased to announce the promotion of Christine M. Hansen, CPA to assistant vice president, finance. Christine is responsible for the corporate accounting, taxation and financial reporting functions. She ensures compliance with regulatory and governing requirements and partners with third party accounting firms to administer financial audits.

Arguably, 2022 was one of the more challenging of the past 25 years. We experienced high inflation that extended throughout the economy and induced monetary policy surprises as central banks tightened in response. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shocked commodity prices exacerbating inflationary pressures and accelerating monetary policy changes. As the year progressed, tighter policy caused activity in the housing market to slow dramatically and the combination of these factors significantly increased the likelihood of a recession. Relative to when the year began, all of these developments came as surprises.

As we look for opportunities to serve our clients better, we begin by listening to those that matter most – our clients.

Many individuals have durable powers of attorney for health care, or advance directives, as part of their estate plan. These documents appoint a surrogate, or patient advocate, to make health care decisions for them when they are unable to do so in a hospital setting. An advance directive is effective only after two physicians have certified as part of the patient’s medical record that the patient is unable to participate in their own health care decision-making. As such, there are conditions to when an advance directive becomes effective. Nor is a durable power of attorney for health care in the form of a medical or physician’s order.

In late October of 2022, the IRS published the inflation adjusted limits for transfer taxes for 2023. The Applicable Gift and Estate Exclusion Amount increases to $12,920,000 per individual up from $12,060,000 in 2022. For those individuals who have used their full exclusion amount, they now have an additional $860,000 to give without incurring gift tax. This exclusion is the amount that an individual may transfer during their lifetime or at their death without incurring gift and estate tax.

Allison Birmingham has been promoted to assistant vice president, senior wealth management advisor. Anne Bohl has been promoted to senior wealth management coordinator. Patrick Bruining has been promoted to senior trust operations analyst. Chris Burns has been promoted to vice president, assistant director of research. Gabrielle Contesti has been promoted to senior project manager. Wendy […]

Julie Weston has been promoted to special asset associate on the estate settlement team. She is responsible for the management of special assets in the settling of estates. She has over ten years of experience in client service. Julie earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree from Walden University. Joel […]

Family office wealth strategist receives CFP® Certification Family Office Wealth Strategist Brittany Szymczak, CFP®, CPA has been authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) to use the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and CFP® certification marks in accordance with CFP Board certification and renewal requirements. Brittany is responsible for providing comprehensive family wealth […]

Greenleaf Trust is proud to announce that it has been recognized as an “Inclusive Workplace” by Best Companies Group, a workplace culture and employee engagement expert, and COLOR Magazine, a leader in corporate inclusivity.

Wealth management associate and trading specialist receive CFP® Certifications Wealth management associate Brian Schafer, and trading specialist Mollie Felt have been authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) to use the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and CFP® certification marks in accordance with CFP Board certification and renewal requirements. Brian is a member […]

November 17, 2022, Kalamazoo, MI – Greenleaf Trust, a Michigan-chartered wealth management firm with $17 billion in assets under advisement*, announced that it has been recognized not only as one of Michigan’s Best and Brightest in Wellness but as an Elite Winner in Participation and Incentives. Winning companies were recognized at the “Michigan’s Best and […]

Greenleaf Trust is pleased to share Chief Financial Officer Steve McKiddy was honored November 10, 2022 with the first annual Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine Philanthropy Volunteer of the Year Award at the medical school’s donor appreciation luncheon. Steve has been the Chairman of the Dean’s Circle of Leadership Giving for […]