You’ve worked hard to leave your children a financial legacy, and the last thing you want is for half of your child’s inheritance to walk out the door with an ex-spouse if he or she gets divorced someday. But, under today’s laws, that could actually happen if you don’t safeguard your family’s assets and plan ahead.
Although it isn’t pleasant to think about, you may have to take legal action to ensure that your married child inherits the assets you planned to leave them. In many circumstances, an estate planning attorney will recommend that clients leave assets to their children in a trust. Passing down your assets in a trust can keep them separate and out of reach from a divorcing spouse, as well as other creditors that may be knocking on your child’s door. If any of the following describe your child(ren), we highly recommend that you consider a trust.
Your child is unmarried.
If your child is currently unmarried, there is a good chance that he or she will be married at some point in the future. Since there is no way to know whether or not that marriage will be successful, it is a good idea to keep their assets protected in a trust—just in case.
Your child is newly married.
If you are or have been married, you know that there will be many bumps in the road. There’s really no crystal ball here, but again, putting your child’s inheritance into a trust now will give you the peace of mind knowing that half the funds won’t walk out the door with your ex-son or daughter-in-law if things go south at any point in the marriage.
Your child is in a rocky marriage.
Even if your child has been married a long time, their marriage could still be struggling. If you sense trouble and have a bad feeling about the future of their marriage, it may be a good idea to protect your child’s inheritance in a trust for all of the reasons listed above.
Trusts can be complex documents, and you will likely need the help of an estate planning attorney to set one up. If you have questions or you are ready to get started, contact Guttman Law firm at (612) 324-4055 to set up an initial consultation.
