Estate & Trust Planning

What you've built
deserves roots,
not just a will.

A properly designed estate plan provides for your family, avoids probate, protects your assets, and ensures your wishes are carried out, all while bringing real peace of mind.

Provide for your family Avoid probate Protect your assets Ensure continuity of your wishes Bring peace of mind
Living Trust Advisory Group crest
About Us

A personal advisor, backed by an established platform.

Built on a partnership with Integrated Trust Systems, serving families since 1985.

The Living Trust Advisory Group is proud to partner with Integrated Trust Systems, a company that has helped individuals and families navigate estate planning since 1985 and is widely regarded as a leader in the digital trust industry.

Founder & Senior Advisor

Russ Tessman

Russ Tessman is the founder, executive director, and senior advisor with the Living Trust Advisory Group. He has served individuals and companies in the Des Moines area and throughout the United States since 1993, bringing integrity, compassion, and genuine service to every client preparing for retirement and for passing on their inheritance to their families.

Outside of work, Russ is the proud father of five grown children and enjoys his eight grandchildren, all of whom live in Iowa. He's actively involved in his church and stays active himself, especially on the disc golf course and the pickleball court.

Russ also serves as executive director of Give Kenya Hope, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting an orphanage in Kitale, Kenya that has rescued 700 children and given them hope and direction for the future.

Network Attorney

Mo Dadkhah

847-431-6222 dadkhahlaw@gmail.com
Network Attorney

Ed Kaiser

952-829-1575
Services

A plan built to carry out your desires.

The Foundation

Living Trusts

Probate often becomes a long, expensive, frustrating, and contentious process, and it is totally unnecessary. With a simple, affordable living trust, probate becomes totally avoidable.

In Case of Emergency

Healthcare Initiatives

Our healthcare directive card is a game changer. We provide an Advanced Medical Directive, Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, and HIPAA Medical Privacy Statement.

Protection

Life Insurance

We offer whole life, term, Indexed Universal Life, and Final Expense policies with twenty of the strongest carriers, tailored to protect your loved ones cost-effectively.

Income

Retirement Planning

Many people enter retirement facing an income gap that forces a change in lifestyle. We help bridge that gap with safe money accounts and a team of experts who help make sure your investment strategy is the right one for you.

Peace of Mind

Long Term Care Insurance

One of the most common worries entering the golden years is what happens if long term care becomes necessary. There are options available to alleviate that concern.

230
New cases, every day

Having a will alone guarantees probate. A living trust guarantees that you can avoid probate. There are an average of 230 new probate cases that open in every state every day. The number one mistake that many families and individuals make is stopping once they have a will in place, not realizing that this will leave their families to go through the painful process of probate.

Our Process

A careful, compassionate, four-step process.

Tailored to your particular situation and desires. Never a one-size-fits-all template.

01

Discovery

We sit down together to analyze your situation and your wishes, and determine if a living trust makes sense for you. We use a no-pressure process to figure out what's best.

02

Strategy

After exploring your desires, we come up with a clear strategy to put you and your family into the best possible position.

03

Implementation

The process we have established for our clients is simple and straightforward. We believe that it is also the most affordable option available.

04

Ongoing Support

You're never on your own. Changes can be made simply, quickly, and without additional cost, and we make sure your trust is properly managed and executed.

Schedule a Consultation

The first conversation costs nothing.

Tell Russ a little about your situation, and he'll reach out to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation, by phone or in person.

Or book directly on Calendly

Integrated Trust Systems

The platform behind the plan.

Helping families navigate estate planning since 1985.

Integrated Trust Systems has helped families navigate the estate planning arena since 1985, and we're thrilled to partner with them. We believe they offer the best product, at the best price, backed by the best people.

Just as telephones have evolved from the days of hanging on a wall shared with a party line, to a smart phone with the capacity of a powerful computer, so the trust business has evolved through innovative technology. ITS has been at the forefront of these innovations and our customers are the beneficiaries of their creativity.

We're especially impressed with their attorneys: some of the highest-rated in the trust space. They don't talk like typical lawyers. They care deeply about every client, answer questions in plain language, and stay accessible through the trust platform they've built.

Learn more at integratedtrustsystems.com.

Since 1985
Four decades of experience
Helping families navigate estate planning long before "digital trust" was a category.
A+ Rating
Better Business Bureau
Never a verified complaint throughout their history.
Top-Rated Counsel
Attorneys who explain, not impress
Highly rated trust attorneys, accessible directly through the platform.
Giving Back

We're here to help one another, especially those who can't help themselves.

A portion of every dollar we earn goes toward that belief.

We believe we've all been placed on this earth to help one another, and that it's especially important to help those with little ability to help themselves. That's why a portion of every revenue we produce is donated to Give Kenya Hope, a nonprofit supporting the Royale Children's Center in Kitale, Kenya.

That organization has rescued 700 children from incredibly difficult circumstances and brought them into a home where they receive love, food, clothing, care, and an education.

Learn more at givekenyahope.org
700
Children rescued
Royale Children's Center, Kitale, Kenya, supported in part by every client we serve.
Contact Us

Have a question first? Just ask.

Whether you're ready to plan or still deciding what's right for your family, reach out any time. There's no pressure, and no obligation.

Founder & Senior Advisor

Russ Tessman

515 419-9289 russ@livingtrustadvisorygroup.com