Advocacy Trust

What Advocacy Trust does

Advocacy Trust, LLC is a Tennessee-based, state-chartered fiduciary services firm founded in 2015 and operated as a subsidiary of The Forge Companies, a diversified financial services conglomerate. The firm administers specialty trust structures — including Special Needs Trusts, Settlement Protection Trusts, Medicare Set-Aside Trusts, Tennessee Asset Protection Trusts, and Qualified Settlement Funds (QSFs) — alongside custody and administrative services for clients who manage their own investment portfolios, plus philanthropy and charitable giving vehicles. Its primary end clients are families and individuals (often settlement recipients or persons with disabilities whose eligibility for SSI and Medicaid must be preserved), served directly and through referrals from plaintiff attorneys, CPAs/CFPs, and investment advisors who use Advocacy Trust specifically to avoid conflict with their own advisory relationships.

The underlying technology stack is a conventional trust administration platform rather than a proprietary software product: core capabilities are delivered through credentialed trust officers and fiduciary counsel operating out of offices in Brentwood TN (headquarters), Louisville KY, New York NY, Mooresville NC, and an Atlanta GA operations center for the parent. Differentiators cited are domain specialization (Special Needs Alliance membership of Chief Fiduciary Counsel Kelli Gardner, NSSTA board service of CEO Spooner Phillips) and a fee structure benchmarked in the lowest quartile of the industry per an independent Pohl Consulting comparison report.

The business model is recurring, asset-based trust administration fees (subscription/recurring) layered with managed custody services. Go-to-market is sales-led and referral-driven, with no public channels, marketplace, or reseller distribution; new client flow originates from plaintiff-attorney settlement work, CPA/CFP referrals, and intra-group handoffs from sibling Forge entities (Forge Consulting for case design and settlement planning; Advocacy Wealth Management for investment management following the Montag & Caldwell partnership). There are no funding rounds, no public ownership, and no external private equity or venture capital investment evidenced; growth is funded internally within The Forge Companies.

Name

Advocacy Trust

Legal name

Advocacy Trust, LLC

Website

https://advocacytrust.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Advocacy Trust is a Tennessee-based fiduciary services firm administering specialty trusts — special needs, settlement protection, Medicare set-aside, asset protection, and qualified settlement funds — for families, plaintiff attorneys, and financial advisors nationwide, operating as a subsidiary of The Forge Companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trust & Fiduciary Services

NAICS

Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities (523991), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Directed Trust & Trust Advisory Services (FSAAANAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Personal & Family Trust Services (FSAAANAA), Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI), Estate Planning, Trust Structuring & Governance (FSAAADAF)

Keywords

• Trust administration services
• Special needs trusts
• Structured settlement support
• Asset protection trusts
• Fiduciary services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Trust Administration Fees: Ongoing fiduciary fees for managing and administering various trust structures including special needs trusts, settlement protection trusts, asset protection trusts, and qualified settlement funds. Fees are based on assets under administration and are competitively positioned in the lowest quartile of the industry.
2. Custody Services: Custodial services providing administrative support for clients who manage their own investment portfolios, including accounting, transaction execution, income reinvestment, distributions, and tax reporting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Advocacy Trust administers specialized trust structures for individuals, families, plaintiff attorneys, and professional advisors, including Special Needs Trusts, Settlement Protection Trusts, Medicare Set-Aside Trusts, Qualified Settlement Funds, and Tennessee Asset Protection Trusts. The firm also delivers ongoing custody, accounting, tax reporting, and philanthropic planning services, functioning as a full-service fiduciary partner that preserves government benefits eligibility and protects settlement assets.

Product overview

Advocacy Trust is a trust and fiduciary services company offering a holistic platform for trust clients, plaintiff attorneys, and their clients. The core offerings center around specialized trust products including Special Needs Trusts, Settlement Protection Trusts, Medicare Set-Aside Trusts, and Qualified Settlement Funds. Administrative Services provide custody and trust administration, while Philanthropy & Charitable Giving Services enable legacy planning through donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, and private foundations. Asset Protection Trusts offer Tennessee-based creditor protection. The company is part of The Forge Companies and celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2025 since founding in 2015.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Special Needs Trust A trust vehicle designed to hold assets on behalf of a disabled individual without jeopardizing their eligibility for state or government aid such as SSI and Medicaid, providing supplemental support for quality-of-life needs. Targeted at families and individuals caring for special-needs beneficiaries.
• Settlement Protection Trust Provides claimants with spendthrift-protected taxable or tax-free payments along with liquidity and flexibility, especially useful when timing or amount of future needs are unpredictable or event contingent. Targeted at personal injury and structured settlement recipients.
• Medicare Set-Aside Trust Used in certain categories of workers' compensation and personal injury settlements to set aside money for future medical expenses that would otherwise be covered by Medicare. Targeted at workers' compensation and personal injury settlement recipients.
• Qualified Settlement Fund (QSF) A legal tool that facilitates the efficient resolution of outstanding tort claims, established pursuant to court order to resolve or satisfy contested or uncontested claims resulting from tort, breach of contract, or violation of law. Includes administrative and investment support, principal/income breakdowns for accounting, distribution support, and investment vehicle access while ensuring fund protection and confidentiality. Targeted at plaintiff attorneys and law firms.
• Asset Protection Trust A Tennessee Asset Protection Trust that allows the grantor to contribute assets exempt from creditor claims while retaining the right to economic benefit of the trust. Targeted at individuals and families seeking creditor protection under Tennessee statute.
• Administrative and Custodial Services Comprehensive custody services providing flexibility for clients to manage their own investment portfolios while Advocacy Trust handles all accounting, transaction execution, income reinvestment, distributions, physical protection of assets, and tax reporting. Targeted at clients who self-direct investments but need fiduciary administration.
• Philanthropy and Charitable Giving Services Guides clients through designing and implementing philanthropic strategies using vehicles such as donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, and private foundations. Targeted at individuals and families pursuing legacy and charitable planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Preserved beneficiary eligibility for SSI and Medicaid while providing supplemental funds for quality of life enhancements
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Special Needs AlliancenotableOthers · 4 November 2025Kelli Gardner, Chief Fiduciary Counsel at Advocacy Trust, was selected as a member of the Special Needs Alliance, a national organization of disability and public benefits attorneys. Her membership highlights her expertise in trust and estate law with a focus on special needs planning.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• The Special Needs Alliance: A national network of disability and public benefits attorneys specializing in special needs planning. While not a trust administrator, its membership model (of which Advocacy Trust's Chief Fiduciary Counsel Kelli Gardner is a member) shapes the referral ecosystem in which Advocacy Trust competes.
• Glenmede: An independently owned wealth and trust company serving families, foundations, and endowments with personalized trust and estate services; comparable niche positioning to Advocacy Trust but with a stronger focus on ultra-high-net-worth families.

Direct peers

• National Advisors Trust Company: A national trust company serving independent RIAs and their clients with custody, trust administration, and estate services, directly comparable to Advocacy Trust's CPA/CFP and advisor-channel GTM motion.
• Capital First Trust Company: A specialty trust company focused on special needs, settlement, and individual trust administration, and a direct talent competitor (Trust Officer Lisa Kelly previously worked there).
• Cumberland Trust: A direct peer based in Tennessee that specializes in personal trust, estate, and special needs trust administration, serving as a frequent career destination for Advocacy Trust alumni (including CRO Jaclyn Berry and Trust Officers Craig Amling and Amanda Luthy).

Broad incumbents

• Wilmington Trust: A long-standing national trust and wealth management brand (M&T Bank subsidiary) offering personal trust, special needs, and estate services at a much larger scale; the primary broad incumbent in Advocacy Trust's space.
• Wells Fargo Wealth Management Trust: The trust and fiduciary services division of Wells Fargo Wealth Management, a direct competitor for high-net-worth families needing personal trust, special needs, and estate services, and a former employer of Advocacy Trust's Senior Trust Manager Jasmine Walker.
• Bessemer Trust: A leading multifamily office with deep trust and estate administration capabilities serving ultra-high-net-worth families; overlaps with Advocacy Trust's higher-end family and individual client segment but at a different price point and scale.
• Fidelity Personal Trust: A division of Fidelity Investments providing personal trust and estate administration services, offering scale advantages in custody and digital tooling that Advocacy Trust cannot match.
• Bank of America Private Bank Trust Services: The private bank trust services arm of Bank of America, offering personal trust, special needs, and estate administration to high-net-worth clients; comparable in service mix but vastly larger in scale and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Advocacy Trust