Keep the Government and Lawyers Away From Your Children's Inheritance
If you take a look at your current estate plan, I’ll bet it leaves your assets to your children outright and unprotected by the time they are 35.
How do I know this? Because most lawyers aren’t giving much thought to your planning, they are simply recommending the default and that is that your assets are distributed outright to your heirs when they are “old enough.”
If your plan is built on this default, you may be overlooking an incredibly valuable gift you can give your children and the generations that will follow.
Yes, you can really do that. Everything you’ve worked so hard to build can be left to your children in such a way that it stays protected throughout their lifetime so that if they ever get divorced or sued your legacy will not be lost to an ex-spouse or creditor.
The best part is that if your child has her own taxable estate when she dies your planning now will save your family 45 cents on every dollar handed down from one generation to the next.
This adds up fast! For every million dollars you leave outright to your children, your grandchildren could receive only $550,000 with $450,000 going to the government … unnecessarily.
So, if you want to know that everything you’ve worked so hard to create will stay in your family for generations to come and not be lost to outsiders, leaving your assets to your children protected instead of outright is the way to go.
Here’s the best part about leaving your assets to your children in a Lifetime Asset Protection Trust. Not only is what you leave protected, but your children control what you leave them when you decide they are ready.
After your death, the assets you leave behind will pass to your children (and your grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on for successive generations) in a trust that is controlled by your child as the trustee of the trust. You get to decide when your child is mature enough to act as trustee.
As the trustee of the trust, your child decides how what you’ve left is invested and what to do with the trust assets. And, your child will even be able to determine the amount of control v. the amount asset protection he or she wants based on his or her specific circumstances.
If you are only leaving your children a small amount of money, this is still incredibly valuable protection. Some might say, it’s even more important because your family has less to lose to taxes, lawsuits and divorce at each generation. And, the impact of such losses is much greater.
Consider $50,000 left outright by a father to his child at his death. When that child later gets divorced, there may not be much left, but if the inheritance were left with Lifetime Asset Protection, the entire amount could be protected from ex-spouses, lawsuits, and estate taxes.
My mentor, Ali Katz's grandmother put $1,000 into a trust just like this for her benefit. She named her the investment trustee and she decided to invest that $1,000 to start a business she intends to sell in the future for at least $20,000,000. Because she doesn’t own that business (it’s owned by the trust her grandmother started for her), that $20,000,000 can never be taken if she get divorced or if she's sued and will never be subject to estate tax when she dies, no matter how big her assets or how small the estate tax exemption. And, the best part is that it’s protected for her children (and even great-grandchildren), while giving them the possibility of growing it even greater at each generation.
How do I know this? Because most lawyers aren’t giving much thought to your planning, they are simply recommending the default and that is that your assets are distributed outright to your heirs when they are “old enough.”
If your plan is built on this default, you may be overlooking an incredibly valuable gift you can give your children and the generations that will follow.
Leave your kids a nest egg protected from lawsuits, divorce and estate taxes.
Yes, you can really do that. Everything you’ve worked so hard to build can be left to your children in such a way that it stays protected throughout their lifetime so that if they ever get divorced or sued your legacy will not be lost to an ex-spouse or creditor.
The best part is that if your child has her own taxable estate when she dies your planning now will save your family 45 cents on every dollar handed down from one generation to the next.
Save your family 45 cents on every dollar at each generation.
So, if you want to know that everything you’ve worked so hard to create will stay in your family for generations to come and not be lost to outsiders, leaving your assets to your children protected instead of outright is the way to go.
But, how will my kids get to use what I leave to them?
After your death, the assets you leave behind will pass to your children (and your grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on for successive generations) in a trust that is controlled by your child as the trustee of the trust. You get to decide when your child is mature enough to act as trustee.
As the trustee of the trust, your child decides how what you’ve left is invested and what to do with the trust assets. And, your child will even be able to determine the amount of control v. the amount asset protection he or she wants based on his or her specific circumstances.
Is this still important if I don’t have much money?
If you are only leaving your children a small amount of money, this is still incredibly valuable protection. Some might say, it’s even more important because your family has less to lose to taxes, lawsuits and divorce at each generation. And, the impact of such losses is much greater.
Consider $50,000 left outright by a father to his child at his death. When that child later gets divorced, there may not be much left, but if the inheritance were left with Lifetime Asset Protection, the entire amount could be protected from ex-spouses, lawsuits, and estate taxes.
A mere $1,000 protected can become millions for the people you love.
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