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Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Protect Your Estate Through An Asset Protection Trust

By Marissa Velazquez


Accumulating assets takes time and it is therefore very essential for you to protect them so that they will not be affected if you are sued or if you file for insolvency among other things. There are many methods of protecting investments with one of them being establishing an asset protection trust. This is an agreement between a trustee and a grantor.

A trustee is the party that is entrusted the task of managing the assets of a grantor for the benefit of beneficiaries. The trust agreement requires grantors to transfer their assets to the trustees they choose. Trusts can either be irrevocable or revocable. They may be included in the will of a grantor to take effect when he or she passes on.

People who want to protect their estates through trusts should ensure that the trusts have independent trustees, spendthrift clauses and allow distributions to take place at the discretion of trustees. Since a revocable trust can be changed at any particular time, the government considers the investments in it to be included in the taxable estate of grantors. For this reason, a grantor may pay taxes on the estate that he or she leaves behind after death.

If you have revocable trusts, you may also be required to pay income taxes on the revenue generated by the investments that are held in them during your lifetime. Revocable trusts usually become irrevocable when a grantor becomes disabled or dies. If you place your investments into irrevocable trusts, they will be permanently removed from your estate and transferred to the trusts.

Their trustees can pay income taxes and capital gains on the trusts on their behalf. After a grantor passes away, the assets that he or she has in an irrevocable trust will not be considered as part of his or her estate and will therefore not be taxed. Grantors usually name trustees to manage their investment portfolios and in some cases, they may work with them when major decisions need to be made.

You can also choose to fully authorize the trustee to act on your behalf. This can be a person you know such as a family member or friend. He or he can also be a professional such as an attorney or an accountant. You can also choose a person who has adequate experience in estate law, money management or taxation to act as your trustee.

Your needs and objectives should be the determining factor when establishing trusts. Living trusts are ideal if you want to get your affairs expertly managed after you die or become disabled. With such trusts, you can control your estate and enjoy its income. After you die, the person you have named as the trustee will distribute the assets you leave behind depending on your agreement. In this way, your beneficiaries will not have to go through the probate process.

People who wish to have their grandchildren become beneficiaries of their estates can choose to set up a generation skipping asset protection trust. Trusts are beneficial because they help people protect their investments, define how their estates should be managed and reduce their tax obligations. Investors should hire a lawyer to help them choose trusts that will meet their needs.




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