As you started your estate planning journey, you may have come to realize that what you thought you wanted with your plan differs from what you truly want. This type of revelation is common when it comes to estate planning as many people do not have enough information regarding their planning options and what an estate plan can really do for them.
In particular, you may have become more interested in trusts and how the different types could help you achieve various goals. While you may have originally thought about creating a will to bequeath your assets to your loved ones, you may now have hopes of creating a lasting legacy for generations to come.
Creating a legacy
If you have hopes of having your contributions live on for years to the benefit of your family and future heirs, you may want to consider creating a dynasty trust. This type of trust often has the capability of lasting for hundreds of years. This trust can begin with your contribution and continue to grow with the wealth of future generations.
Another route you could potentially utilize involves creating a charitable trust. This type of trust offers the chance for you to help your community or specific organization by placing assets into the trust that can then be distributed to your chosen organization over several years.
Protecting your assets
You do not have to be a billionaire to want to protect your assets. Many scenarios in life could lead to outcomes in which your property could face potential seizure, such as in the event of a lawsuit or even a divorce. In order to protect your assets from such possibilities, you may want to consider creating an irrevocable trust that allows you to remove the assets from your estate. Because you essentially no longer own the property, creditors or lawsuit verdicts cannot affect its protections.
Reducing estate taxes
If you worry that your estate may face taxation after your death, you may want to use trusts to address that possibility. By transferring assets into irrevocable trusts, you, again, take assets out of your estate and out of your ownership. As a result, those assets no longer count as part of your taxable estate. You may then reduce the value of your estate to an amount that no longer qualifies for taxation.
Using trusts can allow you to achieve any number of your estate planning goals. If you would like to gain information on the different types of trusts and how they could work for your estate, you may wish to speak with an attorney.
