Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog
Many of our clients are interested in leaving money to their children when they pass. For some clients, though, there is a question about what to do when their child is not financially savvy. Do they leave unrestricted assets for the child anyway? Are there tools they can use to restrict the funds? Today, we review the basics of what you can do to set your child up for financial success even if he or she is not financially savvy. As always, for specific advice tailored to your circumstances, contact a Houston estate planning attorney you can trust.
Establishing a Trust
For some children, it works well to give unrestricted access to assets in a will or estate plan. If you do not want to go that route, however, many clients choose to leave their assets in a trust. Establishing a trust offers a level of protection for the assets you are leaving behind.
You could, as part of this process, designate a trusted individual as the trustee, and you could establish protocols for how often (and for what purpose) your child could access money from the trust. The trust could be established for educational purposes, a wedding fund, yearly travel, or housing costs. You could also implement distribution triggers as part of the trust, which would allow your child to access funds once he or she reaches certain life stages (for example, celebrating a specific birthday or finishing school).
An additional benefit of the trust is that it bypasses probate, so your child will not have to go through the probate process before accessing the assets held in the trust. It is important, however, to make sure the trust is set up in a way that accounts for all possible legal and procedural hurdles that your loved ones might encounter. In order to make sure the trust is above board, we recommend getting a Houston estate planning attorney involved as soon as possible. That way, you can have an experienced third party to help you ensure your trust will achieve exactly what you want it to achieve when you are gone.
Do You Need a Houston Estate Planning Attorney by Your Side?
If you or a loved one is looking to speak with a Houston estate planning attorney, don’t wait. At McCulloch & Miller, we offer sage, dependable advice for our clients at every stage of the estate planning process. Our clients trust us to be there for them when they need us the most, and we are committed to setting them up for success. Our team has over 30 years of experience in the field, and we would be honored to help you navigate your own estate planning journey.
To set up a consultation with a Houston estate planning attorney from our firm, call us today at 713-597-7176. You can also fill out our online form, and an attorney will reach out to talk with you about the details of your case. We handle matters related to estate planning, probate, trusts, elder law, special needs planning, and more.