The notion that your estate plan contains a defect would not normally be welcomed as good news. But despite the moniker, an intentionally defective grantor trust (IDGT) can be an advantageous tool for minimizing estate taxes and maximizing the money and property that are passed on to a spouse, descendants, or other...
Category: Trustee
Will Our Child Have to Handle Multiple Trusts after Our Deaths?
When a married couple creates an estate plan using a revocable living trust, they have the option of creating a single joint trust or two separate individual trusts. While the pros and cons of each are beyond the scope of this article, spouses may choose to create separate trusts for a variety...
Think Your Estate Plan is Complete? Make Sure You’re Not Missing These Important Points
Roughly two-thirds of Americans do not have an estate plan, according to a recent survey from Caring.com.[1]
If you are among the minority of US adults who have prepared a will, living trust, and other end-of-life documents, you may think that your estate plan is settled. But...
What To Do if Your Trustee Is Unresponsive
A trustee has a duty under the law to communicate with beneficiaries and keep them reasonably informed as to the progress of the trust administration. Depending on your state’s law, such duty to inform may require the trustee to give beneficiaries a copy of the trust document, provide information regarding the anticipated...
No Contribution Is Too Small
Most American strive to earn a decent-sized paycheck to support themselves and their families when they go to work. Stay-at-home parents, however, work to provide valuable nonfinancial contributions to their families everyday. They make sure that the home runs smoothly and that their family members have what they need to be successful...
Silent Trusts: Could I Be the Beneficiary of a Trust and Not Know It?
People who have accumulated a substantial amount of wealth during their lifetime are often reluctant to disclose the full extent of their wealth to their children. Although there may be a number of good reasons for high-net-worth individuals to create a trust with their children as beneficiaries, the phrase “trust fund baby”...
How to Protect Yourself from Claims of Self-Dealing When Serving as a Trustee
What Is Self-Dealing in Trust Administration?
A trustee usually has quite a bit of discretion in their management of a trust’s accounts, money, and property (known as assets). At the same time, as a fiduciary, a trustee also owes the trust’s beneficiaries a duty of loyalty, which prohibits the trustee from self-dealing. In...
Statements of Intent or Purpose in Estate Planning Documents
The reasons you, as a trustmaker, create a trust are certainly special and important to you, but your intent or purpose for creating a trust can also have significant legal ramifications. For this reason, it is often critical that a trustmaker express in writing their purpose for creating the trust. There are essentially...
Your Roadmap to a Protected Future after Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy can be incredibly stressful for anyone to go through. Once your matter has been closed, you may wonder what the next steps are. To ensure that you protect your remaining accounts and property as well as yourself and your loved ones, we encourage you to consider an estate plan as your roadmap...
Mental Health Considerations in Estate Planning
It is okay to not be okay. Removing the stigma of mental health starts with realizing that many people—about one in five of all US adults--are affected by mental illness. Understanding this fact can lead to more people getting the help they require, not only by seeking guidance from a mental health...