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Credit Shelter Trusts

What is a Credit Shelter Trust?

A Credit Shelter Trust, or as it is sometimes called, a “Bypass Trust,” Family Trust or “B Trust,” is an Irrevocable Trust designed to hold an amount that can be sheltered from death taxes.

What is the Purpose of a Credit Shelter Trust?

The Credit Shelter Trust not only preserves the deceased person’s death tax credit, but it also shelters the assets from the surviving spouse’s creditors and future spouses. The Credit Shelter Trust can also be crafted to ensure that the assets pass to the deceased spouse’s children or family at the surviving spouse’s death, keeping them out of the hands of the surviving spouse’s next spouse.

Typical Estate Questions About Credit Shelter Trusts:

Here are some questions clients, beneficiaries, and Trustees ask:

How does the Credit Shelter Trust Protect a Beneficiary from Death Taxes?

The Credit Shelter Trust preserves the deceased person’s estate and generation-skipping exemption, preventing the trust assets from being included in the surviving spouse’s and children’s taxable estate.

What are the Pros of the Credit Shelter Trust?

Asset protection, tax avoidance and the ability to keep assets within the family.

What are the Credit Shelter Trust Cons?

The trust has a separate tax ID number, so must file a separate tax return.

Can I Name any Beneficiary to the Credit Shelter Trust?

Yes, you are not limited to the family.

Can only a Spouse be a Beneficiary of a Credit Shelter Trust?

No, a Credit Shelter Trust often includes the children.

Reasonable Prices | Years of Experience | We Make Credit Shelter Trusts and Estate Planning Easier

If you have any questions about Credit Shelter Trusts or any other estate planning topics, please contact us to schedule a free consultation. For more than two decades Klenk Law has focused only on Estate Law. We’ve seen it all, and this experience allows us to explain complex estate law and planning techniques clearly and concisely. We make it easy for you to understand Credit Shelter Trusts so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family.

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It's our first time doing business with Klenk Law and it was absolutely very positive. All interactions were timely and very professional. Peter and all of his staff put us at ease when making our estate plans and answered any questions thoroughly. We would highly recommend.

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Peters' firm has prepared and updated our Wills and Trusts for the last 15 to 20 years. They know the law and help with your decision making to use the law to your best advantage. Response time to your requests is very reasonable, and final reviews and signing is executed in a timely manor with a thorough coverage of the documents. Our most recent updates to our Wills & Trusts were somewhat complicated, in our opinion, but Peter and his staff handled them effortlessly. As you can tell from this review Peter Klenk's firm is top notch.

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