Trusts are valuable tools for those who have a specific legacy they would like to leave behind when they die. All too often, your wishes and plans could wind up undermined by the actions or preferences of the people you name as beneficiaries or heirs.
They could waste an inheritance that you hoped would cover their college costs or the down payment on their first home on clothing and entertainment expenses or recreational travel. A trust gives you more control over who uses your resources and for what purpose.
If you hope to leave money behind for your grandchildren, whether your kids already have their own children or you want to plan for unborn grandchildren, a trust can be the perfect means to that end.
A trust can let you skip a generation for inheritance purposes
Perhaps your child has already achieved career success and won’t need the resources of an inheritance to enjoy the rest of their life. On the other hand, perhaps your child has issues with compulsive spending, addiction or mental health problems. There could be many scenarios in which you would like to leave resources for your grandchildren but not for your child.
If you want to leave something for a grandchild but not a child, a generation-skipping trust can give you the opportunity to set resources aside for your grandchildren. Even if you die while they are still minors, their parents generally will not have control over those assets, provided that you structure the trust properly.
A trust can let you plan to leave resources for grandchildren not yet born
Creating an estate plan early in life might mean that you overlook people whom you would like to name as beneficiaries. With a trust, you have the opportunity of providing instructions on the distribution of your property and naming a trustee to manage that process.
You could instruct that any adoptive or biological grandchildren will each have access to a specific amount or portion of trust assets. Even if those children have not yet been born when you die, the trustee will still have the resources and authority to provide for them well after you are gone.
If you hope to skip a generation or protect resources specifically for your grandchildren, creating a trust could be the solution to your estate planning needs.