Every family is comprised of a compendium of unique individuals who all have different talents. At the same time, we all have our weaknesses as well and not everyone is a sound money manager. This is something to take into consideration when you are planning your estate.
Most people who reach an advanced age become comfortable with the reality of their own mortality. Perhaps the most difficult thing to deal with is the idea that you will no longer be around to help your loved ones should they need assistance.
Providing for them financially via your estate is one way to assuage these concerns, but what about spendthrifts? What if someone in the family was to burn through his or her inheritance too quickly?
This is a source of consternation for many people, and one way to address such a situation would be to create a spendthrift trust. You name the heir with questionable money management abilities as the beneficiary, and you appoint a trustee to manage the funds.
The beneficiary will not be able to make decisions regarding how the resources are administered; this will be the responsibility of the trustee. You may want to choose a professional entity such as a trust company to handle the funds.
This is one way to be sure that your spendthrift heir will have financial resources to fall back on for the long haul. If you’re interested in exploring this strategy in detail, simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a good Hartford estate planning lawyer.
Mr. Nirenstein is licensed to practice before the courts of the State of Connecticut and the United States District Court. He is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations, and the Estate and Probate, Elder Law, Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
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