Protect Your Child’s Inheritance Against Divorce And Creditors

You have worked hard to build a legacy you hope will provide for your children long after you are gone. You may assume that a direct gift is the simplest way to pass on these assets. Unfortunately, this process – and certain life events – can put that legacy at risk. Your child may go through a difficult divorce in the future or be named in a lawsuit. Either situation can jeopardize the assets you intended for them.

This is why effective asset protection for beneficiaries is so critical to consider. A thoughtfully constructed plan anticipates these risks and builds a defense against them before they happen. At Curley Law Firm LLP, our attorneys are two of only about two dozen Certified Elder Law Attorneys (CELAs) in Massachusetts. Our team can help you establish a plan that can provide lasting security for your children and peace of mind for you.

How A Lifetime Trust Provides Powerful Protection

In Massachusetts, courts have broad power to divide assets in a divorce. If your child receives an outright inheritance and mixes it with marital funds, also known as commingling, those assets can become part of a divorce settlement. Even keeping the funds strictly separate may not protect them. A lifetime discretionary trust for children, sometimes called a bloodline trust or family protection trust, can help increase protection for your child’s inheritance from these situations.

The trust legally owns the assets on your child’s behalf. A trustee you appoint manages and distributes funds according to your instructions. This structure provides stronger beneficiary creditor protection because the assets will not legally belong to your child directly.

Our lawyers can help you establish a personalized trust with key features such as:

• Spendthrift provisions: This is a specific clause that legally prevents your child from signing away their future inheritance. It also stops most creditors from seizing trust assets to pay your child’s personal debts.
• Discretionary distributions: This gives the trustee, not your child, the power to decide when and how to distribute funds. This can be a vital feature. Because your child cannot legally demand a payment, a divorcing spouse or creditor generally cannot force a division of the trust assets themselves.
• Clear distribution standards: Your trust documents will include clear trustee selection and distribution standards. This guides the trustee on how to carry out your wishes for your child’s health education and support while still protecting the principal.

Together, these features can help preserve your family’s wealth for generations while still providing for your child’s needs.

Key Decisions For A Stronger Trust

Creating an effective inheritance protection trust involves more than signing a document. It requires thoughtful answers to critical questions about your family’s future. Our attorneys guide you through this process, helping you consider:

• Who is the right trustee? Should you appoint a family member, a trusted friend or a professional corporate trustee? Our lawyers can help you weigh the pros and cons of each choice for long-term success.
• What happens if one spouse dies? Can the surviving spouse change the inheritance plan? Our attorneys can build protections into your plan to ensure the goals you set together remain unchanged.
• How much control should a beneficiary have? Our lawyers will help you define clear standards for how and when funds should be distributed for your child’s health education and well-being.

Answering these questions now is the key to building a plan that prevents conflict and secures your child’s future.

Let Us Help You Secure Your Legacy: Call Us Today

Protecting your child’s inheritance with a complex tool like a lifetime trust is not a task for a general practitioner. Our board-certified lawyers have decades of legal experience and have demonstrated a high level of knowledge in this specific area. Let us help you build a plan to ensure your assets stay with your child exactly as you intend.

Contact Curley Law Firm LLP today by calling 866-406-8582 or reaching out online to schedule a confidential consultation.