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~Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.~
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Modernize Your Estate Planning Using Flexible Trusts
If your estate plan includes trusts, the trust may be designed for the benefit of your spouse during his or her lifetime and then for the benefit of your family, sometimes even for multiple generations of your family. Implementing and maintaining trusts that will cover the administration, investment, and distribution of trust property over the span of multiple decades is challenging and generally requires you to have flexibility in your trust agreements.
There are ways to include flexibility in your trust agreement, including the following.
- Carefully select your trustees.
- Define your trust beneficiaries
- Include powers of appointment
- Provide for the appointment of a trust protector.
We will explore each of this tools in the articles in this Newsletter.
If you are interested in learning how to build flexibility into your revocable trust, please contact us.
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The Wrong Trustees Can Derail Your Ultimate Wishes
Choosing the right succession of trustees for an irrevocable trust is critical to the trust's success and longevity. You have most likely considered naming (or have already named) one or more of your family members as Trustee(s). You may have also given the ability for the Trustee to appoint additional family members because they will better understand the varying needs of your beneficiaries and will keep the costs of administering the trust down.
(read more)
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Your Trust Beneficiaries Need to Be Clearly Defined
You need to carefully consider who you want to include as beneficiaries of your trust twenty, thirty, or even fifty years into the future. In the past the definition of "descendant" was straightforward: A person who can be traced back to a specific ancestor through the same blood lines. But the modern family now encompasses much more than just blood heirs:
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Powers of Appointment Can Add or Eliminate Beneficiaries
If you are concerned about how your children, grandchildren, or even great grandchildren will eventually grow up, you can build flexibility into trust by giving your spouse or other beneficiaries the ability to include or exclude heirs through the use of powers of appointment.
(read more)
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Trust Protectors Can Fix Just About Any Problem
A trust protector is an individual or entity that is empowered to see that your wishes are ultimately fulfilled. A trust protector's duties can be as limited or as broad as you choose. In essence a trust protector can be given the power to modify the terms of a trust to address unforeseeable events such as changes in tax laws or family dynamics.
(read more)
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 Is It Time to Take Action?
Contact us and find out how easy it is to set your estate plan up. You'll sleep better at night knowing things are taken care of the way you want.
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Welcome!
Elizabeth Schmitz practices estate planning, probate and elder law. She guides families and individuals as they provide for themselves and their loved ones during all states of life.
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| Contact Information |
Elizabeth Schmitz, Attorney At Law
1900 Polaris Parkway, Suite 450
Columbus, OH 43240
614-785-4980
eschmitz@eschmitzlaw.com
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