- How to Protect Assets From Nursing Home Costs
As healthcare costs continue to rise, many individuals and families are seeking effective strategies to protect their assets. Knowing how to safeguard your financial resources is crucial for ensuring peace of mind and preserving your legacy for future generations. Below, we’ll explore various methods to protect assets from nursing home costs, including legal tools such… read more…
- How Does a Bare Trust Work?
Parents and grandparents looking for a way to pass assets to their beneficiaries should consider a bare trust, also known as a naked trust or simple trust. It is one of the simplest forms of a trust but can still… read more…
- Asset Protection If a Spouse Goes into a Nursing Home
Many people plan carefully for their financial needs in retirement, but often overlook how a disability could impact their situation. Unfortunately, disability is one of the leading reasons individuals require nursing home care. Understanding Medicaid laws and exploring asset protection strategies can help you learn how to protect assets if a spouse goes into a… read more…
- What Is a Purpose Trust?
Establishing a trust as part of an estate plan is something you might consider for passing on wealth. While most trusts are created with one or more beneficiaries in mind, purposes trusts work differently. A purpose trust is what it… read more…
- 6 Trusts for High-Net-Worth Estate Planning
If you have a high net worth, one of the most powerful tools available to you is a trust. They can help you pass your wealth to your heirs and may be able to shield your money from creditors. However, there are many types of trusts available. Selecting the right trust(s) will help ensure your… read more…
- What Is a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust?
An estate plan is designed to make sure your family is taken care of after you are gone — and to see that your money and property is dispersed as you want it to be. There are a number of tools available to build an effective estate plan, including wills and various types of trust.… read more…
- Joint Revocable Trust: Estate Planning
Establishing a joint revocable trust can be an ideal estate planning tool for the benefit of your children, your grandchildren and beyond. Married couples have the possibility of establishing a joint trust instead of simply establishing one in each of their names. Let’s compare the advantages and disadvantages for your needs. A financial advisor can help you create… read more…
- Can a Trustee Withdraw Money From a Trust Account?
Trusts can be a useful tool for estate planning when you want to leave specific instructions about how your assets should be managed during your lifetime and beyond. Part of creating a trust means naming a trustee who’s responsible for overseeing… read more…
- How Does a Beneficiary Get Money From a Trust?
If you’ve just inherited a windfall from a deceased relative’s trust, you’re likely wondering, “How does a beneficiary get money from a trust?” When your deceased relative created the trust, they set distribution guidelines for the time of distributions or… read more…
- How to Create a Trust for a Child
When people hear that a child has a trust fund, they often assume that the child is incredibly rich. That isn’t always the case. There are many reasons why parents and guardians would want to create a trust fund, even… read more…
- Do Trust Funds Gain Interest?
When considering long-term wealth management strategies, many people wonder: do trust funds gain interest? The answer is yes, but with important nuances. Trust funds aren’t simply static accounts holding money but are sophisticated financial vehicles that can generate interest, dividends and capital appreciation depending on how they’re structured and invested. Unlike basic savings accounts, trust… read more…
- Understanding How Discretionary Trusts Work
A discretionary trust is a type of trust that can be established on behalf of one or more beneficiaries. The trustee who oversees the trust can use their discretion in determining when and how trust assets should be distributed to beneficiaries, hence the name. There are different reasons why you might consider establishing a discretionary… read more…
- Types of Charitable Trusts for Financial Planning
Charitable lead trusts (CLTs) and charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) are two types of charitable trusts that could benefit your financial plans for your estate. They provide tax-advantaged income to you and your beneficiaries during or at the end of the term of the trusts along with allowing you to make donations to your favorite charities.… read more…
- What Is a First-Party Special Needs Trust?
Individuals living with disabilities that impact their day-to-day or long-term medical conditions often depend on external support. For example, they may rely on government assistance programs, like Medicaid, to access necessary care. However, some of these programs have strict asset limit rules that can make or break your eligibility. One way disabled individuals, families and… read more…
- What Is a Private Trust Company?
A private trust company or family trust company is an estate planning tool that can be used to preserve wealth. This type of trust entity is most often used by high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. For example, someone who runs a family-owned business and has $150 million in assets may choose to establish a private trust… read more…
- How Charitable Lead Trusts Work
A charitable lead trust is a form of charitable trust that first distributes assets to the named charities. Once the assets have been distributed to the charities as specified in the trust, the named beneficiaries receive the remainder of the… read more…
- When Can a Trust Be Contested?
Trusts offer some unique advantages for estate planning and they can be a valuable tool for creating a legacy of wealth. But what happens when the beneficiaries of a trust disagree with its terms or the way the trustee manages it? Can a trust be contested? The short answer is that yes, in certain situations,… read more…
- How a Charitable Trust Works
A charitable trust holds assets and distributes them to charities. When you establish the trust you can specify how it will manage and invest its assets, as well as how it will make donations. There are some tax benefits to setting… read more…
- How Pooled Special Needs Trusts Work
When it comes to setting aside money for someone with special needs, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind. For instance, how do you provide for everyday needs and living expenses while also maintaining eligibility for public… read more…
- Annuity Trust (CRAT) vs. Unitrust (CRUT)
Charitable trusts can be used to establish a legacy of giving while yielding some potentially valuable estate planning benefits. A charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) is one option; a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) is another. CRATs and CRUTs can both be used for estate planning and charitable giving purposes, though they aren’t exactly the same.… read more…
- Estate Planning: Can You Sue a Trust?
Trusts can provide certain benefits for estate planning, including asset protection. But can you sue a trust? It’s an important question to ask if you have a trust or plan to create one, are named as the beneficiary to a… read more…
- How an A-B Trust Works
An A-B trust, also known as a bypass trust, is a legal arrangement that allows married couples to avoid estate tax on certain assets when one spouse passes away. When one spouse dies, the estate’s assets are split into two separate trusts, A trust and B trust. As the size of the estate tax exemption… read more…
- Warranty Deed vs. Deed of Trust
When purchasing a home, there are a number of very important legal documents involved. Two such documents that you may encounter are a warranty deed and a deed of trust. A financial advisor could help you navigate through important financial decisions… read more…
- How to Set Up a Trust Bank Account
Understanding what you need to support your loved ones during and after your life can be a daunting task. Especially when it comes to the issue of assets and finances. Many people take steps like setting up a will or trust through a financial advisor. But beyond those legal agreements, a question arises about whether special… read more…
- What Is a Living Trust in Real Estate?
While no one wants to think about his or her own death, planning for the inevitable is an important part of protecting your assets and those you love. There are a few important legal steps you can take to prepare for the future of your estate, one of which may include the creation of a… read more…