From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “I am thinking about forming a trust for my minor child, but I read that a trust could be a “simple trust” or a “complex trust,” what is a complex trust?”
Tag: Trusts
From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “I am forming a trust for my minor children. I could use my brother as Trustee or choose a Corporate Trustee. What are the reasons to use a Corporate Trustee rather than my brother?”
From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “I am setting up a Special Needs Trust for my son in my Will. I am trying to decide if I should pick my daughter or a bank as the Special Needs Trust Trustee. Who should I pick as the Special Needs Trust Trustee?”
From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “I have been diagnosed with early stage Alzheimers. I have heard that setting up an “unfunded trust” for long-term care might be a good idea. What is an unfunded trust and how is a trustthat is unfunded useful?”
When planning for Alzheimers, the term “unfunded trust” refers to a Revocable Living Trust which you set up but in which you currently put no assets. Because it is currently not “funded” with any assets, we call it an “unfunded trust.”
From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “What is a Spousal Limited Access Trust?”
A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust, or SLAT, holds and shelters your gifts for your spouse’s benefit.
From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Can a non-citizen spouse inherit land from me, a US citizen, even while a non-resident? My wife lives in India, but I have property in my name here in the United States.
The IRA Trust, An Underutilized Estate Planning Tool.
To ensure that your money passes on only to your direct descendants, consider forming an IRA Trust.
All qualified plans (IRA, Roths, 401ks, SEPs, TIAA-CREF, etc.) allow you to name a beneficiary to receive the plan at your death. But, if this person is your child, they will have the chance to defer income tax recognition by converting the plan into an “Inherited IRA”. BUT, with an “Inherited IRA” your child, not you, has the ability to name a beneficiary. And it is likely this beneficiary will be your daughter-in-law or son-in-law rather than your grandchildren.
Our “Ask a Question” mailbag addresses the question, how to equalize inheritances with a special needs child.
“My estate is only large enough to provide care for my Special Needs child. So how do leave an equal amount to my other two sons? Is there a way to equalize inheritances with a special needs child with siblings?”
From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My CPA told me that I should form a trust to help the save federal estate tax payable at my death. I think he may have called it a Revocable Living Trust. Is that good advice?
From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My father has been diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. He is having some memory issues, but is still doing very well on his own with one exception. My brother has always been the black sheep of the family. He has never held a steady job. He recently declared bankruptcy and has been pressuring my father to give him money and to change his will to give my brother more money. My father and my deceased mother’s wills have always divided their estate equally between the four children. My father has told me that he does not want to change his will, but that he is worried that as the Alzheimer’s progresses, he may give into the pressure my brother is putting on him. How do I protect my father from my brother’s undue influence?
