Choosing Your Trust Beneficiaries
Chapter 2 guided you through a process of deciding who should receive your property, what the person should receive, when your property should be distributed, and why. You were encouraged to develop a miniplan for each person. However, when you learn about the flexibility of trusts and the types of decisions you can make for your family, you may find yourself revising those pieces of paper.
You are going to learn about the types of powers and discretion you can give to your successor trustee. If you create a trust that is going to be in existence for many years after you are gone, it may change your decisions about how and when you want to distribute your property.
Most people know who they want to provide for in their estate plan. It is also fair to say that even when you know who you would like to include in your plan, you often have concerns about what will happen. You may have some of the following concerns:
How should you divide your property?
What is fair?
Is this a second (or more) marriage for you?
Do you want your surviving spouse to have complete control over your property after you are gone?
What will happen if your child divorces?
Are you concerned that your daughter- or son-in-law will take your child's inheritance?
Do any of your beneficiaries have special needs?
Will your beneficiaries squander their inheritance?
If any of these issues concern you, you need to continue reading to learn how you can create a trust that can relieve those concerns.
