Trust 101 Series: Marital Trust
Protect your spouse and ensure your wealth is passed to your children.
A marital trust is a trust created to protect your spouse and children by placing assets into the trust to avoid probate, reduce estate tax and ensure assets pass on to heirs.
You have the opportunity to put controls on your assets now. Here’s some reason why you should.
KEEP assets where they belong -- in your family
HELP spouse with management assets. If they are not good at money management, a co-trustee could be put in place to help them.
PEACE of mind for you. You have values and dreams for your family. They do not have to dissipate. Your marital trust can embody the values and dreams by the controls you create. Essentially you are still helping your family with managing monies, businesses, and other assets.
Generational wealth is lost, especially for the black and brown community, through no plan or improper planning. It doesn’t have to be that way. Estate planning is not just for the rich. We could avoid probate, ensuring homes are not sold through the probate process to pay fees.
homeownership is a powerful tool to building wealth. Many generations have used the equity in their home to fund a college education, start a business, and help children buy their first home.
Creating a marital trust to help a spouse keep and manage assets will keep your family in control and maintain wealth.
First, second, third marriages.
Remarriage happens. When spouse A dies, their home goes to their surviving spouse B. The surviving spouse B remarries. When the surviving spouse passes away, the home goes to the new spouse C. Nothing has been to A’s children. This scenario happens every - single - day. But it does not have to happen to you. Because not you know better.
Here’s what to do
Get control and maintain control over your assets—set parameters in your marital trust. For example, What happens in certain situations, like remarriage? Does the spouse get a reduced amount, no monies, or everything goes directly to the children? You decide.
Here are common themes that people look to in creating marital trust.
Preserve assets for children, especially in second marriages.
Dissuade from remarriage. As mentioned above, not taking remarriage into account could disinherit children.
Lifetime income to your spouse, the remainder of the assets to children
Prevent spouse mismanagement of assets.
Today’s probate system does not take into account the blended families of today. Using a tool like a marital trust helps to maintain and keep building generational wealth.
Ready to get your estate plan started or need more information, schedule a discovery call with me? Where you and I dive a little deeper into your situation to discover the plan that fits you.
~ Tenicia Moulden
Moulden Law Blog is made available by the lawyer for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog site, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and Moulden Law. Moulden Law should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.
