Your Trust – Your Choice
Because Personal Trusts don’t always fit
the mold.
Pinion is a Professional Individual Personal Trustee in Delaware, providing a smart alternative solution available to attorneys, financial advisors, corporate trust providers…and directly to clients.
The name, Pinion, recalls the feathers of a bird’s wing responsible for the freedom of flight. The freedom to choose the way trusts are administered is Pinion’s mission.
Pinion understands that personal trusts and the families associated with them often have unique and complex needs that require innovative and flexible solutions.
A Service Built Around What’s Important to You
Pinion cares about what’s important to you. We understand that each family’s circumstances and values are different… and we tailor our services to meet your family’s needs. It’s a relationship that begins when you pick up the phone.
- Personal attention…Dedicated to each client’s specific needs
- Reliability and stability…Over 30 years of “trust” experience and expertise
- Flexibility…Equipped to administer trusts that many others would not or could
not - Unbiased guidance…Not subject to family or other pressures
- Responsive communication…Accessible, proactive, consistent client attention
- Built-in succession…A support team and succession plan is in place
- Reasonable Fees…Fewer internal costs allow for attractive fees
Expert Personal Trust Management in the Nation’s Best Trust Environment
Pinion is a trade name representing a collective of professional individual trustees in Delaware. The Trustees are Theresa L. Hughes, Tara J. Bolinski, and William Duggan. With over 65 years of combined experience in the trust industry, they provide expertise and seasoned judgment to administer a wide range of trusts, many with unique and complex needs that call for innovative and flexible solutions. Affiliated with Santora CPA Group, and based in Delaware, Pinion operates in a jurisdiction renowned for its highly favorable trust laws and forward‑thinking approach to trust administration.
Delaware laws permit the separation of trustee powers, such as administration, investment
management, and discretionary distribution duties, allowing the creator of a trust and their
beneficiaries maximum flexibility in the management of their trust. Engaging an administrative
trustee in Delaware with the ability and experience in personal trust management is essential to a
successful trust plan.
If you have a need to fill the duties of Trust Protector, Discretionary Distribution Adviser,
Designated Representative, or Investment Direction Adviser, Talon Fiduciary Solutions, a Santora
CPA Group Company, now provides an alternative for these roles within Delaware Directed Trusts.
Contact talon@piniondelaware.com for more information.
Why Delaware
- No rule against perpetuities – family’s generations benefit from the trust.
- Favorable state income tax treatment – consult your tax advisor.
- Ability to separate fiduciary duties, allowing for separate investment and
distribution advisors. - Statutory “quiet” trust provisions that allow families to choose an appropriate
time to advise their descendants of the trust’s existence. - Knowledgeable and efficient legal and court system. In fact, Delaware’s
Court of Chancery has more than 250 years of history developing legal precedent in
trust and corporate law, and holds a preeminent position in developing this body of
law in the United States.
Individual Trustee Services
- Professionally implement the trust portion of the estate plan.
- Provide an independent decision-maker and process as required by the trust.
- Approve and document discretionary distribution decisions where not directed by a
separate distributions advisor. - Prepare or ensure the preparation and filing of trust tax returns.
- Provide access to highly favorable Delaware trust laws.
- Provide continuity of administration of the trust throughout its existence.
- Provide independent and unbiased administration of the trust. The trustee cannot
be influenced by personal relationships with a beneficiary or a class of
beneficiaries. - Maintain an account to receive trust income and contributions and pay expenses and
distributions from the trust. - Maintain trust records, such as statements, tax returns, accountings, and
documentation resulting from trust activity and business. - Provide at least annual reports to beneficiaries as required by the trust.
- Retain accountants, attorneys, agents, and other advisors in connection with the
performance of the trustee’s administrative duties. - Execute documents on behalf of the trust, such as account agreements, loan
documents, and any other business in which the trust may be involved.
Custody Neutral / Advisor Friendly
- Pinion is an “Advisor Friendly Trustee” meaning that Pinion does
not compete with Financial Advisors for the management of a trust’s investments;
Pinion does not manage money. At the same time, Pinion understands and respects the
relationships that financial advisors have with their clients, having worked with
them and their clients for many years. - To facilitate the role of trustee with clients of financial advisors, Pinion
allows for the trust’s assets to be held at the advisor’s custodian, whether
Fidelity, Schwab, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch or others. Pinion can work with any
custodian of asset portfolios made up of marketable securities and routinely
collaborates with custodians and financial advisory firms engaged in managing a
trust’s portfolio. - Pinion also has the knowledge and expertise to handle special and unusual trust
assets; we welcome trusts that have unique administrative needs such as
S-Corporations, Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies – and other
assets that may not be acceptable to traditional trustee services providers.
Get in Touch with Pinion
About Theresa L. Hughes
Theresa has worked in the trust industry in a variety of capacities for over 40 years. She was Chief Fiduciary Officer for several trust companies prior to becoming an Individual Trustee in 2017. She is an expert in trust administration and Delaware trusts in particular. You can view her LinkedIn profile at: www.linkedin.com/in/thughes-indivttee
About Tara J. Bolinski
Tara started her career in the nonprofit and social services space and moved into the trust industry over a decade ago. She joined Santora CPA Group in 2019 and Pinion in 2026. She brings a client-centered approach to trust administration, with a strong commitment to open communication and detailed recordkeeping. You can view her LinkedIn profile here: linkedin.com/in/tbolinski
About William Duggan
Wil has been in the trust industry since 2012. He worked for several corporate trustees prior to joining Santora CPA Group in 2021 and Pinion in 2026. He enjoys working with clients and advisors to help tackle the more complex and technical estate planning relationships. You can view his LinkedIn profile here: linkedin.com/in/wduggan
TO REACH PINION DIRECTLY:
trust@piniondelaware.com
302-409-2586
302-737-3362 (Fax)
Pinion does not share, sell, or rent your mobile phone number or any personal information collected through SMS messaging with third parties for their marketing purposes. Your mobile number will only be used to send you the SMS messages you have opted in to receive.
Talon Fiduciary Solutions
A Santora CPA Group Company
Talon is ready to serve in many of the fiduciary and non-fiduciary roles commonly present in
Delaware Directed Trusts. Including:
- Trust Protector
In conjunction with the other interested parties named in a Trust, Talon will remove
and appoint Trustees, amend the administrative and tax provisions, and perform other duties as outlined in the Trust Agreement. - Designated Representative
When serving as Designated Representative, Talon will receive notifications and accountings on
behalf of a class of beneficiaries and will represent and bind the beneficiaries in accordance
with the terms of the Trust Agreement. - Discretionary Distribution Advisor
Talon will work directly with beneficiaries to determine if a distribution request is
appropriate and will approve, partially approve, or decline the distribution in accordance with
the dispositive provisions of the Trust. - Investment Direction Advisor
In a limited capacity, Talon will direct the Trustee to act on behalf of the Trust with
investment matters and work with financial advisors to implement investment strategies for the
Trust. - Tax Advisor
Talon may be appointed by the Trust or other instrument to handle the collection of tax
documents, processing of tax payments, and/or prepare federal and state tax returns. - LLC Manager
Talon may serve as sole or joint manager for LLCs in many jurisdictions. Services range from
annual meetings to regular involvement in decision making.
Utilizing Talon Fiduciary Solutions to serve in these roles can alleviate the stress and conflict
that may arise when a friend or family member takes on these responsibilities. Please contact talon@piniondelaware.com to explore these
solutions.
What Our Clients Say…
Over the last decade, I have entrusted the administration of dozens of my clients’ trusts to Theresa Hughes. Not only has she provided excellent Delaware-centered trust administration, my clients consistently receive attentive, professional, and thoughtful service. Now that Theresa has developed her own brand in Pinion, the clients she has worked with in the past have virtually all migrated back to her as their Delaware Trustee.
Louis W. Pierro, Esq. Founding Partner, Pierro, Connor & Strauss, LLC
We found Theresa Hughes after being referred to her through our estate planning lawyer. As we were completing our trust and estate planning, we determined Delaware trusts would provide the best place of administration for our trusts. Navigating the trust process was challenging to our family. Theresa guided us through the process, and we were able to achieve our funding goal and the eventual sale of our family business entities. We value Theresa’s experience and expertise as she continues to administer our trusts.
L.R., New York
Our attorney referred us to Theresa Hughes in late 2018 as we were transitioning our existing trust to Delaware. Theresa worked with us to accept our trust as quickly as possible while ensuring that all documentation for the transition was in order. Since Theresa has been our trustee, she has provided excellent service to us and our investment advisors. Her communication, responsiveness, clarity in educating us, and care taken with each and every transaction have been exceptional, and we couldn’t ask for anything more.
R and S, California