Estate planning typically entails the integration of numerous goals into one comprehensive plan. For example, providing for loved ones and gifting to charity can be accomplished in one trust by creating a charitable lead or charitable remainder trust. Charitable lead and remainder trusts are estate-planning tools that have similar effects while using procedures that are nearly opposite. One creates a trust that provides a charitable beneficiary with income for a specific time period, with the … [Read more...] about Charitable Lead vs. Charitable Remainder Trust
Trusts
Who Should I Appoint as the Trustee of My Living Trust?
A Last Will and Testament usually serves as the foundation of a comprehensive estate plan. For most people, however, a Will is just the beginning of an estate plan. People often choose to add additional documents and estate planning tools to help achieve a multitude of goals and objectives. Though once used primarily by wealthy families as a method to pass down the family fortune, trusts have become an increasingly popular addition to estate plans for people from all walks of life. If you decide … [Read more...] about Who Should I Appoint as the Trustee of My Living Trust?
First Party Special Needs Trust in Houston Texas
If you have a special needs individual in your family then you likely already know there are numerous challenges involved in caring for someone with special needs. Often, those challenges are financial. Unless you are operating with extremely deep pockets, there is a good chance that your special needs family member will need to depend on assistance from one or more of the federal and state assistance programs. Qualifying for those programs, however, can get tricky if your special needs loved … [Read more...] about First Party Special Needs Trust in Houston Texas
Trusts Basics in Houston Texas
Trusts Basics in Houston Texas from Steve P. Mendel One allows you to direct disbursements to a charity first for a designated number of years with the remainder to go to a non-charitable beneficiary while the other disburses to a non-charitable beneficiary first with the remainder going to a charity at the end of a specific period of time. Learn more about trusts basics in Houston Texas in this presentation. … [Read more...] about Trusts Basics in Houston Texas
Caring For Your Special Needs Child: The Texas Special Needs Trust
Caring For Your Special Needs Child: The Texas Special Needs Trust from Steve P. Mendel The parent of a special needs child may not want to dwell on the financial aspect of raising the child but reality is that it costs more. Learn more about caring for your special needs child in this presentation. … [Read more...] about Caring For Your Special Needs Child: The Texas Special Needs Trust
Free Report: Texas Trust Basics
All trusts require four basic elements – a grantor, a trustee, assets, and beneficiaries. First, someone must create the trust. This person is referred to as the grantor, trustor, or settler. Next, you must appoint someone (a person or a company) to be the trustee. The trustee is responsible for administering the trust and managing the trust assets. Once you have the trustee, you will need to designate assets to fund the trust. Although trust assets can be cash, they can also be real … [Read more...] about Free Report: Texas Trust Basics
Choosing a Trustee – Why an Independent Trustee May Be Your Best Choice
A trust can be an invaluable addition to any estate plan; however, a trust is only as valuable as the grantor makes it. For this reason, you should use care when making important decisions relating to the trust, such as who you decide to appoint as trustee. Although you may initially lean toward appointing a family member, an independent trustee may be a better choice. People often consider appointing a spouse or adult child as trustee because it seems the easy, logical choice. Only a family … [Read more...] about Choosing a Trustee – Why an Independent Trustee May Be Your Best Choice
Different Types of Living Trusts
People often come into estate planning attorneys' offices knowing that they would like to get a Living Trust. These are popular instruments for estate planning because they often have tax and probate-avoidance advantages. However, what people do not always know is that not all Living Trusts are exactly the same. The "Living" in the title does not tell you as much as some people think. First, there are two basic categories of Trusts: Living and Testamentary. All these categories tell you is when … [Read more...] about Different Types of Living Trusts
Chinese Trusts?
It is obvious that different cultures have different ways of doing things and different ways of looking at the world. These differences often lead to radically different ways of thinking and reasoning about what is right. They also lead to entirely different ways of handling legal affairs. Consider, for example, how our estate laws would look if we did not have Trusts. Some cultures do not have Trusts, at least that is an argument that is currently playing itself out in Hong Kong's courts. … [Read more...] about Chinese Trusts?
After Getting a Trust
Have you considered what to do after you get a Revocable Living Trust? If you are like most people who have estate plans, than you probably do have a Revocable Living Trust. However, you need to have a plan in place for what comes next. Just getting the Trust itself does not do anything unless you follow through with a more complete plan. The first thing you need to do is to fund the Trust. You need to transfer your assets to the Trust. The attorney who drafted the Trust for you probably told … [Read more...] about After Getting a Trust
