Last week we discussed a few ways to pass your assets and best protect minors. This blog will focus on additional methods to pass on your assets to children, including life insurance, retirement accounts, inheritance, and special needs trusts.
Life insurance is a great way to protect your children. However, you should be cautious about making your minor children direct beneficiaries because the money will be controlled by their guardians. Instead, you should look into creating a trust for your minor children. This way, the money is handled by the trustee and it will be used for the children’s benefit. It is also important to insure a non-working spouse, who can use the funds to care for your children.
Retirement accounts can also provide your children with the funds they may need over their lifetime. The ultimate goal of Estate Planning is to have your assets last your children during their lifetime. This can be possible by making a minor or a young person the beneficiary of your retirement account. This way, they can stretch out the benefits over a long period of time. However, be cautious of the various tax implications that are involved.
When it comes to inheritance, your children should not directly inherit your wealth. Once again, this is because their guardian would have control over it. Additionally, the children would have access to the wealth all at once when they turn 18; this is not ideal. Instead, you can create a living revocable trust that the inheritance would pass to. Additionally, you can transfer your assets while you are alive so that the assets are already in the trust when you pass. The successor trustee will take over where you left off. There are numerous provisions you can choose from, such as giving the money to children when they reach a certain age or distributing it out over their lifetime.
UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act) accounts are another simple way to pass on funds. It allows you to pass assets to your children without involvement of a guardian or trustee.
Lastly, special needs trusts can be a helpful tool. This trust may be ideal if you have a child with a disability who receives government assistance. The advantage of a special needs trust is that the child can simultaneously qualify for government assistance and still receive benefits from the trust. There are a multitude of special rules and qualifications to this type of trust.
It is important to consult with a qualified Asset Protection and Estate Planning Attorney to determine the best plan for you.
For more information on Estate Planning and Asset Protection, contact The Presser Law Firm, P.A. for a complimentary preliminary consultation.
The Presser Law Firm, P.A.
6199 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton FL 33487
(561) 953-1050 or e-mail Info@AssetProtectionAttorneys.com