As you contemplate the process of passing on assets to beneficiaries, there are many different strategies that you can use to achieve these goals. Trusts are a vital estate and financial planning tool and may be recommended to you by your estate planning lawyer, your CPA or your financial advisor.
Many different people can take advantage of the benefits provided by a trust, but these may be recommended to you in a number of different situations, including:
- Wanting to care for a disabled relative who may need assistance after you’re no longer around through a tool known as a special needs trust that protects this individual’s eligibility for government benefits.
- You may want to protect assets from potential creditors while leveraging those assets to create current income.
- You want to safeguard your assets so the income can be generated for future generations.
- A business owner who has no other employees, and tends to accumulate retirement funds while reducing taxes and business income.
These certainly aren’t the only reasons why a trust may work within your greater Michigan estate plan, which is why it’s helpful to talk things through with a lawyer.
A variety of different trusts may be used with the guidance of an experienced estate planning lawyer to recommend within your estate plan. You need to understand the entire picture of your estate before deciding which trust is most aligned with your goals,.
Understanding the pros and cons of these individual trusts and properly following through by funding the trust where applicable is extremely important for achieving your individual goals.
Talk to a Michigan estate planning attorney if you have questions about drafting your first will, deciding which trust to use, or any other questions regarding incapacity or estate-related concerns.