As discussed in the previous article, there are very few of your assets that are protected from creditors in the event of a lawsuit. There are some simple steps that you can take to address your asset’s vulnerability to attacks by creditors.
Buy insurance. You should have a liability insurance policy on your car, on your home, on your business, and an umbrella policy.
Review ownership of assets.
…
Continue Reading Simple Steps You Can Take Now to Protect Your Assets
The word “Irrevocable” usually implies no ability to change. Most people believe that the Trustee is required to adhere to the wishes of the Trust’s creator, even though the times and circumstances have changed. Nonetheless, that is no longer true in the case of New York State.
There are two circumstances where an Irrevocable Trust may be changed or revoked.
The first circumstance exists when the Grantor of the Trust is still alive, wants to make a change and ALL the beneficiaries of the Trust agree with the proposed change.…
Continue Reading Is an Irrevocable Trust really that Irrevocable?
New York has a very strong policy against self-settled trusts. A self-settled trust is one where the Grantor transfers assets to an irrevocable trust but remains one of the Trust’s beneficiaries. While these transfers are legal, New York believes that they are “void as against creditors”. As a result, if the Grantor remains a beneficiary of this type of Trust in New York, his assets are not protected against creditors.
Nevada, however, together with approximately 12 other states, permits these types of trusts and protects the assets against creditors.…
Joint Revocable Trust: Lots of spouses opt to create a joint revocable trust. It makes a lot of sense to do so for many people: First, a lot of assets are owned jointly, so it can be an extra hassle to separate them. Second, the kids are common, so the bequest of assets after death will be common. Third, there is little chance of divorce, so there is no need to separate the assets. Last, there estate is below the federal tax threshold, so the actual ownership may not matter.…
Continue Reading Joint Revocable Trusts vs. Parallel Documents (cost saving vs. peace of mind)
Family Trustees: Very often, the Trustee of a Trust is a family member. There are many reasons to create …
If you have a loved one with a disability, their life can be significantly improved with additional funds (think of…
In the past, when the federal estate tax threshold was $1MM, most estate planners concentrated on reducing or eliminating the…
Resident Trust: In general, a Trust is considered a Resident Trust and the Trustee must file New York State…
Continue Reading When does a Trust need to pay New York State income taxes?
A book (and soon to be a movie) Empty Mansions tells a story about Huguette Clark, a reclusive heiress to…
Another warning for anyone thinking of using self-settled trusts. A Utah court recently decided that Utah state law should apply…
Continue Reading Self-settled trusts may not provide asset protection.
