Modern Estate Planning Blog

You’ve worked hard to leave your children a financial legacy, and the last thing you want is for half of your child’s inheritance to walk out the door with an ex-spouse if he or she gets divorced someday. But, under today’s laws, that could actually happen if you don’t safeguard your family’s assets and plan ahead.

Although it isn’t pleasant to think about, legal action may be necessary to ensure that your married child inherits the assets you planned to leave them. In many circumstances, a Folsom trust lawyer will recommend that clients leave assets to their children in a trust. Passing down your assets in a trust can keep them separate and out of reach of a divorcing spouse, as well as other creditors that may be knocking on your child’s door. 
If any of the following describe your child(ren), we highly recommend that you consider a trust.

Your child is unmarried.

If your child is currently unmarried, there is a good chance that he or she will be married at some point in their life. Since there is no way to know whether or not that marriage will be successful, it is a good idea to keep their assets protected in a trust—just in case.

Your child is newly married.

If you are, or have been married, you know that there will be many bumps in the road. There’s really no crystal ball here, but again, leaving your child’s inheritance in a trust will give you the peace of mind knowing that half the funds won’t walk out the door with your ex-son or daughter in-law if things go south at any point in the marriage.

Your child is in a rocky marriage.

Even if your child has been married a long time, their marriage could still be struggling. If you sense trouble and have a bad feeling about the future of their marriage, it may be a good idea to protect your child’s inheritance in a trust for all the reasons listed above.

Inheritance trusts complex documents and you will need the help of an estate planning attorney to set one up correctly to provide the intended benefits to your children. If you have questions or you are ready to get started, contact our Folsom trust lawyers at (916) 241-9661 to set up a consultation.

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