Blake Bratcher Joins Private Banking To Help Build Trust & Estate Services

Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations. The adage and cautionary tale about the squandering of generational wealth is history that repeats itself around the world, but the truth is, it doesn’t have to. Preserving a family legacy is one of the more challenging financial situations to navigate because of the emotional ties that bind trusts, but the support needed to secure a legacy is available, and the solution for your family might be found through a corporate trustee.  

If you have dedicated your life to building a business, chances are that worrying about how to preserve it for future generations has kept you up at night. What is going to happen to your family members in the years to come? How will you ensure that the wealth you have built has proper stewardship so that those you love are taken care of?

Blake Bratcher, VP, Trust & Estate Officer at Texas Partners Bank, has recently joined the Private Banking team to help clients protect their legacies with confidence. The Private Banking department at Texas Partners Bank takes personal interest in the specific needs of families, and customizes solutions to best fit their personal vision and desire for their legacies. By working with clients to alleviate the burden of financial management, Blake enables them to focus on today while helping them plan for tomorrow.

For Blake, the decision was an easy one to join the Private Banking team at Texas Partners Bank and work alongside Bruce Irick, Executive Vice President, Private Banking Manager at The Bank of Austin. Motivated by honoring legacies and preserving family histories through meaningful interpersonal relationships, Blake’s law degree from St. Mary’s University led him on a path that ultimately landed him in trust administration, where he has found his professional passion and purpose.

“I wanted to take care of families and their legacies…and establish something that people can rely on and really find support through, whether that is preserving wealth and leaving things behind for their children, or taking care of a special needs child and protecting them for whatever happens down the road. I care about helping people preserve what they have worked for their whole lives, and to have a role in determining how things are laid out for their families in the future. That is what drew me to trust, and that is what I love about it.” 

“The goal of the Private Bank is to assist our clients not only with their loan and deposit needs but to also assist them in their estate planning process,” says Bruce Irick. “Our trust team has the expertise to listen to our clients, their estate planning attorney and any other advisors and discuss the role Trust and Estate Services at Texas Partners Bank can provide to meet their needs. As an attorney and experienced trust officer, Blake can be a valuable piece of the estate planning process. We are really fortunate to have Blake at Texas Partners Bank.” 

As corporate trustee for trust clients of Texas Partners Bank, Blake plays an important role in educating and advising business owners and their families about their options when it comes to financial management. He serves as a neutral party to help families navigate relationships and can help ease tensions of decision-making, preventing potential conflict before it arises.

What makes Blake feel particularly aligned with Texas Partners Bank is its dedication to authentic relationship building, which is at the heart of every client partnership at the bank, because it fosters the long-lasting, permanent relationships that families can count on for generations.

“What our services do is relieve our clients of the fear of the unknown about what is going to happen to their family members after they're gone,” shares Blake. “They know that individuals in their lives and their financial matters are taken care of in the specific ways they feel are appropriate. Our services relieve that anxiety and the questions that keep clients up at night: 'What is going to happen when I'm gone?' 'What are my family members going to do?' 'Are all of the resources we have worked so hard for going to be preserved?'”

Blake sees himself as a strategic partner with both grantors and beneficiaries, joining with investment advisors, estate planning attorneys, and tax advisors to deliver solutions for the unique fiduciary needs of each family.