Many of our clients want to plan for their children’s future, when drawing up their estate plans. However, some of our clients are concerned about their child’s spouse accessing inheritance.
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While every client has different concerns and requires customized estate planning, one question we often hear has to do with protecting the inheritance of their spouse’s children.
So can inheritance be protected from your child’s spouse?
Yes, there are many ways to try to protect inheritance.
While every situation is different, there are steps you can take to try to save money for your child – and not for their partner.
One way to try to protect money is to instruct children on how to handle inheritance money once it is received.
Tell your child to keep documentation stating that the inheritance is for the child, and not for the child and their spouse. Keeping inheritance in separate accounts can further protect it.
One of the best ways to protect inheritance is to place a language in your trust that determines how it is distributed.
A very useful tool in protecting inheritance is belief in your child, in your belief. These are often referred to as sub-trusts.
If you put your child’s money in a sub-trust within your trust, you can change their distribution and enforce language on how they can access their inheritance.
If the distribution is shaken up so that they get a discount at certain ages, if they divorce, hopefully they will still have some left over after the divorce.
Before setting the distribution, you can give directions to the guardians so they know when to give money to your child for various purposes.
Language tailored to your beliefs is one of the best ways to potentially protect an inheritance, especially if divorce is imminent.
Utilizing a trust, as opposed to a dying will or testament, also keeps terms private. If your child is alienated from their partner, they may not even be aware of the trust and distribution.
If your child is unmarried, consult a lawyer about a prenup when the time comes. This agreement may plan for future inheritance.
We help our clients put in place the correct estate planning documents to solve their problems and protect their wishes. We also help clients update their documents regularly as the situation changes.
Let us know if you have any questions about the right type of estate plan for you or a loved one or if you need help adapting language to protect your child’s inheritance.
Contact us today to help you get the right paperwork or to update your current property package. We will plan so you don’t have to worry about your future.
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