Video Summary

Will my assets be protected from creditor’s claims if I place my assets in a trust? The answer is no. This is a myth. I often hear this, from time to time whenever I’m doing estate planning, or people call about setting up a trust and that your assets are not protected. The only exception of this, is if you set up an irrevocable trust, meaning you can’t change it and you can’t have any control of your assets, and irrevocable mean you can’t change it. So, I rarely if ever, draft an irrevocable trust, except if it had to do with a life insurance trust and those may be irrevocable. As far as insurance policies are concerned, in this vein, if you are married, you have certain protections. If you hold your assets as husband and wife, this is called tenancy by the entireties, and you can set your bank accounts up with 10 under tenancy by the entireties, or simply if you hold your assets as husband and wife, it creates tenancy by the entireties. And this gives you some asset protection so that if your spouse, if they get a judgment against your spouse and not against both of you, then they cannot attach any assets that you own jointly as husband and wife or tenancy by the entireties. This is different than joint tenants with right of survivorship. If you own it as joint tenants with right of survivorship, then each of you own a one-half interest and the asset half the asset is not protected. If they get a judgment against one of you, they can attach that asset. So, this is a myth and I don’t draft irrevocable trust. Also, as if you do set up a joint trust, as far as husband and wife is concerned, you destroy the tenancy by the entireties that you possibly had before you set it up and, and may subject your, the assets in the trust, your spouse owned or you owned to your creditor’s claim. So don’t set up a trust to try and protect your assets. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

How can I help my kids so that they do not spend their entire inheritance after turning age 18? Well, number 1, is if they’re entitled to the money or they have the money in their name, there’s nothing you can do other than give them parental advice and hopefully they will listen to you. However, if there’s any planning to be done, you can provide in your will or your trust that their monies be held in a trust so that, I usually suggest that, their money be held until their age 25 with the direction of whoever the trustee is. So, hold the money for their health, education, and maintenance. And then at age 25 that they receive a third or a half of the money, and then they receive the balance of money at 30 or 35, depending if you want, at what age you believe that they would be responsible enough to take care of the money.
So, there’s little you can do if the money is in their name, you can do something about it as if you are putting it in your estate planning documents and they’ll be inheriting it from you. You can either put this in a testamentary trust, which is in your will, or if you want, you can set up a trust,  if you’re by yourself and you want the money to be held after you pass away for them and so that they don’t receive it at age 18. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

Are my asset protected from creditors if I set up a trust? If you set up a trust for state planning purposes, for the in order to avoid probate, and you designate yourself as trustee, your assets are not protected from creditors. You have control over these assets and if a creditor obtains a judgment against you, they can attach a levy upon any asset that you hold as trustee, under your trust as if they were just in your name alone. So setting up a revocable trust, does not protect your assets from creditors. You have questions about this. Give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

Revocable trust  vs irrevocable trust, What is the difference? Well, just using the words, I think help better describe it than anything, but a revocable trust is usually executed for estate planning purposes and allows you to change your beneficiaries, make any modifications. As far as the trust is concerned you name yourself as a trustee and you have complete control over these assets. You can even do away with the trust. So, you have complete flexibility as far as amending the trust. And, so it doesn’t become irrevocable until such time as you pass away. And, an irrevocable trust means one that cannot be changed, that would be the case. Whenever you die, your trust becomes irrevocable and it can’t be changed. And the successor trustee must distribute the assets pursuant to the provisions of your previously revocable trust. Also, an irrevocable trust can be set up. Most of the time that’s set up, for a life insurance trust, also set up for Medicaid purposes, but an irrevocable trust means that you don’t serve as a trustee. You do not control the assets and you cannot change the terms. There are some minor modifications that you can make to an irrevocable trust as far as the trustee,  things like that, and there are some circumstances where they can be dissolved or modified, but we need the consent and everyone, who is a beneficiary or potential beneficiary to join in, to modify the provisions of an irrevocable trust. So, in essence, a revocable trust, You can change it, an irrevocable trust. You can, if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.