Private Family Office in Sarasota
A dedicated FinancialTeam coordinating every dimension of your family's financial life along the Cultural Coast.
Fee-Only
Compensated solely by our clients. No commissions. No conflicts.
Serving Florida Since 1995
Three decades of fee-only fiduciary wealth management.
As Your Needs Evolve, Your Team Should Evolve with You
Planning, investments, tax, estate. One team. One strategy. See how we begin
At 65, your financial plan focused on retirement income and tax optimization. At 75, it expanded to include estate updates and charitable strategy. At 85, the questions have changed again: who is reviewing the bills, who is coordinating with the care manager, who is communicating with your children in Seattle and Chicago, and who is ensuring that the professionals you trust are still in place and still aligned.
The Family Office adapts to each phase. It is the same team, the same strategy, and the same accountability, recalibrated as your life requires more coordination rather than less. For families whose philanthropy supports Sarasota's arts community, collections, or foundations, the Family Office integrates giving strategy, appraisal coordination, and tax documentation directly into the plan. View the Dassler Family Office case study
Your Sarasota FinancialTeam
Michael T. Koenig, CFP®, J.M.
Mike founded FirsTrust in 1995 and leads the firm's trust and estate practice. A Certified Financial Planner® with a JurisMaster in Law and 40 years of experience.
Christopher Cannon, CFA
Chris is a CFA charterholder with 33+ years of investment experience spanning institutional trading, arbitrage, and private client management.
Elayne Pisarik, CFP®, CLU, ChFC®, CDMM, MS, M.Tax
Elayne holds three degrees, four certifications (CFP®, CLU, ChFC, CDMM), a Master of Taxation, and 34 years of tax strategy experience.
William J. Kearney, Jr.
Bill serves as President and Business Manager of FirsTrust, overseeing the firm's day-to-day operations. He is often the first voice to welcome prospective clients to the firm.
What Your Family Office Coordinates
Concierge Financial Oversight
As needs evolve with age, your Family Office provides bill payment oversight, insurance coordination, healthcare navigation, and communication with family members who may live across the country.
Philanthropic Advisory
Major gifts ($100K+) structured through donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, private foundations, and direct gifts. Coordinated with your tax and estate strategy for maximum impact.
Art Collection Stewardship
Authentication, valuation, insurance, charitable contribution strategy (qualified appraisal and IRS Form 8283 for gifts over $5,000), and estate inclusion. Aligned with Sarasota's identity as Florida's Cultural Coast.
Multi-Professional Coordination
Your CPA, estate attorney, insurance professional, healthcare providers, and banking relationships, all working from one strategy with your Family Office as the central point of accountability.
Common Questions About the Private Family Office in Sarasota
As clients' needs evolve, the Family Office expands its scope of coordination. This may include reviewing bills and recurring payments for accuracy, coordinating with insurance companies on claims and coverage changes, communicating with healthcare providers and care managers, providing regular updates to adult children or designated family members, working with trust companies and professional fiduciaries, and ensuring estate documents and beneficiary designations remain current. The goal is continuity and protection during a period when financial oversight is most important and often most difficult to maintain independently.
The most tax-efficient structure depends on the type of asset you are giving, your income level, your age, and the type of recipient organization. Cash gifts to public charities are deductible up to 60% of AGI. Appreciated securities held more than one year can be donated at fair market value with a deduction up to 30% of AGI, avoiding capital gains entirely. Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs ($105,000 per year for those 70½+) are excluded from income rather than deducted. Charitable remainder trusts can provide income to you before the remainder passes to charity. Your FinancialTeam evaluates the options and coordinates with your CPA to determine the most effective structure for your specific situation. Charitable deduction rules are complex and depend on individual circumstances. Learn more about tax planning
Art collections require specialized oversight across valuation (for insurance, estate tax, and charitable contribution purposes), insurance (fine art policies with agreed-value coverage), storage and conservation, loan and exhibition management, charitable contribution strategy (donations of art valued at $5,000+ require a qualified independent appraisal and IRS Form 8283), and estate planning (art is included in the taxable estate at fair market value). Your Family Office coordinates with art appraisers, insurance specialists, and your estate attorney to integrate your collection into your overall wealth plan. Valuations are subject to IRS review; proper documentation is essential.
Families typically transition when the complexity of their financial lives exceeds what quarterly reviews and periodic coordination can effectively address. Common indicators include multiple trusts and entities requiring ongoing administration, philanthropic commitments that require structured giving strategy, aging family members who need more frequent oversight, multigenerational planning with adult children and grandchildren, real estate or alternative asset holdings that require specialized coordination, or a liquidity event that fundamentally changes the family's financial structure. Your FinancialTeam can evaluate whether your current engagement level is sufficient or whether a Family Office model would provide meaningful additional value. View our fee structure