Could Your Heirs Be a Problem?

“Problem” Heirs

Do you have a child or heir with credit problems or a drug or alcohol problem?  Or maybe your child is having marital problems and you do not want their spouse to end up with your money!  None of us want our life’s earnings to be squandered, and an inheritance could end up making matters worse.

You might not want to disinherit your child entirely because of his or her personal problems.  Here is a solution to allow you to control your child’s inheritance and insure that it won’t be squandered or misused.

Create a Trust!  A Trust can pass wealth to an heir while controlling how, when, and why your heir can access the funds.  One of the advantages of a Trust is flexibility.  Here are some of the ways you can accomplish your goals:

Appoint a Trustee who can resist the pleas of a desperate beneficiary.  Do you have a close relative who can do this?  If not, appoint a professional Trustee, such as the trust company of your bank.

Specify the specific circumstances under which the funds will be paid out.  Or, you can give the Trustee complete discretion over disbursement decisions.  For example:

If you heir has drug or alcohol problem, require drug testing before the funds are paid.  Or give your heir incentive to change by structuring lump-sum disbursements after prescribed periods of time – perhaps require five years of sobriety.

Create an incentive for work by disbursing funds that are tied to wages or earnings.

Direct that payments must be made directly to third-party providers such as a landlord, mortgage company or utility company.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

This blog post is not case-specific and is provided only for educational purposes and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Blog topics may or may not be updated and entries may be out-of-date at the time you view them.

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