Keep your trust updated to protect your interests and allows the maximum flexibility to meet the changing requirements of your future, while integrating changes in law and best practices to provide for every potential scenario. “We were meaning to make some changes, when Bob’s health rapidly declined – he was gone before I knew it. Now half of everything we have is tied up, and I’m unsure about my own future.” Older “A-B” trusts provide strict limitations on how your assets are to be divided, and what is to become of half of all of your assets. This may not allow for the types of choices the surviving spouse may be required to make in the future.
“You learn who you can depend upon.” Those chilling words were hard to listen to as I listened to a story of children who drifted away, versus those who took care of some very practical daily needs for an aging parent.? After decades of experience in business, accounting, tax and legal work, I can tell you that flexibility is a valuable tool when designing a trust to meet the needs of a surviving spouse.
Trust vehicles come and go, and there is still a lot of false perceptions when clients ask about the difference between an “A-B” trust and a “disclaimer trust.” Each situation is as different and unique as the clients I’ve come to know so well who are sitting in front of me. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of trust, but the ability to flex and meet the changing needs as years go by after the passing of a spouse is one critical measure of a successful trust.
Keeping your trust updated protects your interests and you should have your trust documents reviewed every 3 years. It’s a small precaution that can make a substantial difference in your family’s financial future. It would have made a big difference to the woman in the story above. Contact our experienced estate planning attorneys or call us for a free initial consultation at 866-631-3470. Updating your trust provides peace of mind, and optimism for our clients. Is it time for us to sit down together, and make sure your future brightly anticipates all potential developments?
