Because of the high incidence of divorce in the United States at the present time there are a lot of blended families out there, and there are many different types of scenarios to address in an estate planning context. We are going to take a look at a relatively common one here and offer a typically utilized solution.
To explain by way of example, let’s say that you married your childhood sweetheart and had three children along the way. You accumulated assets as a couple and you both feel as though your children should benefit from these resources after you pass away.
This is all well and good and easily accomplished when you are married, but let’s say that you get divorced. You both go your separate ways with your share of the community assets. For the purposes of this example we will say that you get remarried at some point in time.
How do you provide for your new spouse after your death without giving this individual control over who inherits the assets that you leave behind after he or she dies? One answer would lie in the creation of a qualified terminable interest property trust.
With the QTIP you allow for your spouse to benefit from the income that is earned by the trust throughout the rest of his or her life. However, he or she can’t direct who will receive the trust’s assets after his or her death. You name this beneficiary when you are creating the trust.
The qualified terminable interest property trust is one of the blended family solutions that are available to you. To explore them in detail, simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a good Indianapolis estate planning lawyer.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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