- You want your assets managed in a certain way if you become incapacitated.
- You want information about your wealth and assets to remain private.
- You want to reduce your income taxes.
- You want to avoid estate taxes.
- You want your assets to pass to heirs without having to go through probate.
- You want to reduce legal fees in the distribution of your assets.
- A member of your family has special needs (such as a mental, physical or developmental disability, or a chronic health issue that will prevent them from earning an income or living independently).
- An heir has a drug or alcohol dependency.
- An heir is unable to effectively manage money (called a spendthrift).
- An heir is in a troubled marriage.
- An heir might squander an inheritance if it’s received in a lump sum.
- An heir might fall victim to scam artists or be unduly influenced by friends, charities, politicians or others seeking money.
- An heir should receive their inheritance as an allowance.
- An heir’s use of any inheritance should be restricted to education, housing or medical expenses.
- An heir should have access to income from an inheritance but access to principal should be restricted (by, say, no more than 5 percent annually).
- You want to let an heir use an asset for a period of time (perhaps for their lifetime) but you do not want to give that heir the right to sell the asset or bequeath it to others. Instead, you want to state who ultimately receives the asset and when (or under what conditions).
- You want an heir to receive income or assets only if they meet certain qualifications or conditions.
- You want certain assets to go to charity upon your death but during your lifetime you want to retain the income that’s generated by the asset.
- You want to give income to a charity while you’re alive but upon your death you want to pass the asset to your heirs.
If you check any of the following boxes, you should talk to an estate attorney to see if you need a Trust or not:
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