Estate Planning Options to Consider for Your Grandchildren
The estate planning process is full of changes every step of the way. As grandchildren are added to the family tree, they are often added to the estate plan. This requires a number of different amendments, which should be done by an estate planning lawyer.
One of the most common questions that estate planning lawyers are asked is how they can do the best job of using a trust looking out for their grandchildren. There are a handful of options for grandparents to consider in order to do what’s best for their family, and it’s a decision-making process that involves weighing numerous factors.
In most cases, the best thing that grandparents can do for their family’s future is leave all their property and accounts to their grandchildren’s parents. There are rarer instances, however, when it’s a better alternative to transfer the property to their grandchildren directly.
All grandparents should be aware that you can open a trust account specifically for the benefit of your grandchildren, and there are several ways of doing so. With enough simple information about the options that are available to you, it’s possible for anyone to help their youngest generation.
No matter what your present circumstances may be, carefully looking into what you’ll be leaving behind for your family couldn’t be more important. If you don’t, the negative impact may last for generations to come. This may leave your children, grandchildren, and other relatives with a complicated legal scenario that they have to deal with in the midst of their grieving once you’ve passed away.
Should You Leave Your Assets to Their Parents?
This is what the majority of grandparents find to be the ideal route to take. This comes with the advantage of financial stability, which by extension benefits the grandkids. The grandchildren’s parents are also more practically minded and thus more likely to put the money to good use. Besides being spent on childcare, it can also be invested on the child’s behalf.
Should You Leave Assets With the Grandchild Directly?
It’s not as common, but these situations do arise. When there is little to no trust between the parents and grandparents, it may be wiser to go this route. Situations like drug abuse or other forms of addiction may cause parents to spend the money irresponsibly and not in the grandchildrens’ best interests.
Leaving assets directly for the grandchildren to inherit may also be the option chosen when the grandchildren’s parents have accrued their own wealth independently. This is done because in those cases, leaving the assets to the parents might force them to pay additional costly taxes.
What if Your Grandchildren Gain Assets by Default?
Another eventuality is for the grandchildren to inherit your property and assets by way of default. In some cases, it may have been the intention for the grandparents to leave everything to their grown children but it goes to the grandchildren by mistake. This may happen when the original inheritor of the asset, the grandparent’s adult child, suffers a premature death from an illness or accident. In those cases, the grandchild may end up inheriting all of the assets. It is possible to arrange accommodations for these circumstances in a person’s trust or will.
Contact the experienced attorneys at the Knee Law Firm, LLC today for professional and friendly legal guidance on all your estate planning questions. You can call our Hackensack office at 201-996-1200 today to set up an initial consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. Alternatively, you can fill out and submit our easy online form, and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.