Trusts
Using Trusts to Advance Your Goals for Your Family
You do not need to be wealthy to consider trusts as a way to achieve important estate planning goals for yourself, your spouse and your heirs. While trusts have always been an important tool for managing estate tax liability for affluent families, they can also make a difference for people concerned about the future management of a family business, the preservation of a family farm, protecting the eligibility of a senior citizen or special needs adult child for government benefits, and many other needs.
To learn how trusts can help you accomplish the estate planning objectives most important to you and your family, contact us and make an appointment with one of our experienced estate planning and elder law attorneys. We can advise you about such trust alternatives as the following:
- Testamentary trusts associated with wills
- Retirement planning trusts to help you maximize the benefit of your IRA’s, including the “stretch” feature
- Dynasty trusts to provide for children and grandchildren
- Living trusts to avoid probate and reduce your exposure to state or federal estate taxation
- Irrevocable life insurance trusts to provide for anticipated estate tax liability
- Medicaid asset protection trusts, especially for families who do not anticipate the need for Medicaid benefits for at least five years
- Veterans asset protection trusts
- Creditor protection trusts
- Charitable remainder trusts to benefit schools, foundations or religious organizations after your death
The main characteristic of any trust is that it separates the ownership or title to an asset from the benefit that the asset generates. That is why transferring an asset into trust has the effect of reducing the size of your estate. That is also why a trustee, or the person who manages the trust and its property, is under a strict fiduciary duty to do so in the interests of the beneficiaries of the trust.
Our firm is here to protect you and those you love. Contact us today, we can help you identify your estate planning goals and explain the trust instruments that might make the best sense for your situation and objectives.
