by abcurry » Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:12 am
jumped the gun a bit with the atty part. i am referring to what to put in the beneficiary field when i purchase the life insurance contract or the 401k plan. i plan on setting up a revocable living trust. the trust, the insurance and 401k contracts will be drawn up in ohio. the minor beneficiaries would be neices and nephews as i don't have children of my own. the parents are not the best to handle the funds as intended. a will is to be created to catch what is not covered in the trust document.
i want to avoid the proceeds being deposited with the courts with a court appointed guardian of the minor's estate. this would happen with a will.
with a living trust i can designate the trustee and avoid probate
what i need to know if i put the custodian's name as custodian to the minor childd under ohio umta
or
name the trustee of the trust for the minor to be established in the living trust
in the beneficiary field of the "funding" contracts
i want to avoid the proceeds being deposited with the courts with a court appointed guardian of the minor's estate. this would happen with a will.
with a living trust i can designate the trustee and avoid probate
what i need to know if i put the custodian's name as custodian to the minor childd under ohio umta
or
name the trustee of the trust for the minor to be established in the living trust
in the beneficiary field of the "funding" contracts
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:32 am Post Subject:
Please be very careful with the idea of transferring ownership of a life insurance policy to a revocable trust. I would absolutely speak with a competent professional specializing in trust issues prior to doing this.
It's important to keep in mind that life insurance, in and of itself, can easily be held outside of an estate and will not have any effect on estate taxation even if the beneficiaries are minors.
There are many ways that minors can be taken care of in your situation. The easiest way would be to set up a testamentary trust to be the beneficiary of the death benefit as you can be paid directly from a life insurance policy unless you're at least 18 years old. You will name the trustee of the testamentary trust who will control the assets for the children until they reach the age of majority. Normally at that point the funds are released to the adult child.
There are many ways to handle this without going to the level you're reaching for. Again, be careful of revocable trusts that contain financial instruments. Certain things cannot even be owned by the type of trust you're suggesting, such as 401(k) plans and other tax-advantaged financial instruments. Be careful!
InsTeacher 8)
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