Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Taking Care of Ann

Dan is taking care of his daughter, Ann, after his beloved Abby’s death in a car crash.  It would have been easier for Dan to protect Ann’s inheritance for her future if some “just in case” planning had been done by Dan and his wife Abby in the years after Ann’s birth before the crash.

Such planning, called estate planning, could have eliminated the requirement that Dan give Ann her inheritance directly at the age of 18, when Ann is unlikely to be able to manage the money most responsibly.

Dan could protect Ann’s inheritance better using a “contingent” trust for a minor in Abby’s Will.  The trust is called contingent because the trust would never be created existence unless Abby died before Ann turned an age specified in the Will. 

However, because Abby did pass away in the tragic crash while Ann was still a minor, any of Abby’s property left to Ann would have been placed in a specially-created minor’s trust.  And the trust could specify that Dan would keep control of the money in the trust until Ann was 25 years old.  Or Abby could choose an even older age for Ann to receive any remaining trust money.

And until Ann reached that age, the property in the trust would be protected from any creditor to whom Ann might owe money, as well as from being misspent or badly invested by Ann herself before she is a more experienced money manager.

Taking care of your family after an unexpected death can be made easier and more effective with proper planning.  For help with your own estate plan, call our office at (815) 436-1996 for an appointment.

© 2014 Gruber Law Office, Ltd.


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