A trust is a very effective way to maintain control over your assets, even after your passing. Although a will can ensure your assets go to the people you want to receive them, a trust can help ensure those assets are protected from unintended results or misuse. In some cases, without this planning, those assets can create more harm than good.
An estate plan is not effective if our assets do not end up with the people we want under the circumstances we want. For example, if your child is facing bankruptcy at the time of your passing, will your assets be able to help your child get back on his/her feet, or will they be used to pay your child’s creditors? You can control that decision with a properly drafted trust.
The following are just a few examples of how a trust may help:
- If your spouse has predeceased you, and you become incapacitated from a stroke, a fall, dementia or other factors, how can you ensure that your assets will still be used to take care of you?
- Do your children struggle with spending, creditors, marital problems, disabilities, addictions, etc.?
- Scams – Especially for seniors who have lost a spouse, this is an extremely serious risk. The bad guys are aware who is the most vulnerable and when.
We cannot know with certainty all the challenges which will interfere with our estate plans. In fact, those challenges are likely to be different for each of us. However, by understanding how a trust can provide protection (and how it cannot), you can decide if those protections will be beneficial in your circumstances.
*Steve Wright is an Idaho licensed attorney. This column is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice, which requires a specific discussion of specific circumstances.
© 2025 Steven J Wright