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Protect Family Assets with a Trust

If it's been a while since you named beneficiaries, you'll want to make sure they still reflect your wishes. You'll generally name your beneficiaries when you purchase a policy or open an account. You could consider naming a close family member or friend as well as a corporate trustee to act as co-trustees, with the corporate trustee taking on much of the administrative burde


Offshore jurisdictions may provide additional layers of legal complexity and separation, but with higher costs and regulatory requirements. States like Nevada and South Dakota have statutes specifically designed for asset protection trusts. Professionals such as physicians, attorneys, or business owners may use APTs to distance personal assets from potential claims related to their work. Unlike revocable trusts, which offer no legal barrier between the individual and their assets, APTs may provide a layer of protection under specific legal condition


You may have a vacation home that you built or purchased with the dream that your loved ones would continue to use it after you are gone, or you may have a homestead that you would like to pass on to someone in your family. A Qualified Personal Residence Trust ("QPRT") is an irrevocable trust that holds the Trustmaker's primary residence or vacation home as its only asset. This can be especially important if your son-in-law or daughter-in-law should remarry or have more children. Depending on the circumstances, you might still consider naming your son-in-law or daughter-in-law as Trustee on behalf of the grandchildren, but the HST makes it clear that the funds are only to be used for the grandchildren's benefit. The Heir Safeguard Trust allows you to bypass your son-in-law or daughter-in-law and set the funds aside for grandchildren. With a "simple" Will, you might leave things equally to your children when you die.
Relief from financial waste
The benefit is that, because the property is no longer yours, it’s unavailable to satisfy claims against you. We discussed tax planning, avoiding probate, and steps to provide for financial management if either or both spouses become incapacitated. Clients should consult their legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions. Bank of America, Merrill, their affiliates, and advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting family legacy protection advice. A trust could help with this by, say, allowing your second wife to benefit from trust income during her life, with the principal reverting to your children from your first marriage upon her death.
It is important to work with an experienced trusts lawyer who can take a holistic view of your needs and ensure all legal requirements are met. When you die, the trust assets are passed to the beneficiaries according to the trust’s conditions. Unlike some other trusts, you can continue to use the assets prior to death, including living in the family home. Property, investments and other assets that are placed into the trust stop being part of your legal ownership, and that keeps them safe and out of reach from creditors and other claimants. Trusts for asset protection can protect your assets from creditors and other claims and are an effective way to ensure that wealth stays in the hands of those you intend.
Working with an Advisor: A Coordinated Approach
APTs can help structure the transfer of assets in a way that reduces the risk of loss through divorce settlements, creditor claims, or lawsuits involving beneficiaries. Among the tools that may be worth exploring, Asset Protection Trusts (APTs) are designed to help safeguard assets from future claims or legal disputes. Explore how asset protection trusts may help safeguard wealth from legal risks and support multigenerational planning as part of a broader estate strategy. An Heir Safeguard Trust ("HST") is specifically designed to protect your surviving spouse or children from future remarriage, lawsuits, creditors, or divorce.
North Carolina Estate Planning Attorney Serving the Following Cities and Area


Learn the essentials of estate planning, including wills, trusts, living wills, and strategies to minimize taxes while protecting your assets and loved ones. Dying without a will can also create added anxiety for your family during a time of grief. For a simple estate, you can use reputable online platforms to create basic documents like a will or power of attorney. That means less uncertainty and fewer disagreements, and quicker access to the resources they may need after you’re gone. Even if your situation remains steady, it’s still smart to review your plan periodically since the laws related to estate planning can chang


A revocable living trust is a legal device that can be used to manage your property during your lifetime and to distribute your property after your death. A trust is ideal for larger or more complex estates, or if the grantor prioritizes privacy, wants to avoid probate, has beneficiaries with special needs, or wishes to control how assets are distributed over time. With a revocable living trust, it is possible to not transfer all assets to the trustee immediately, but specifically to authorize the attorney-in-fact to finish funding the trust if you become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney is less expensive than a revocable living trust, because it involves no transfers of assets and no estate distribution plan upon your death. A revocable living family legacy protection trust can avoid these extra court proceedings only if that property is transferred to your trust. At your death your will can transfer up to $75,000 of personal property and $200,000 in real property to your trust through an affidavit filed with the court.
Durable Power of Attorney
When properly crafted, a Will clearly explains what is to be done with personal property (home, car, jewelry, artwork, etc.), as well as financial assets (savings family legacy protection accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, etc.). Name beneficiaries who will receive the assets after your death While useful, revocable trusts are not perfect. So, who owns the property in a revocable trust? Although the trust becomes the legal owner, you retain control. This article explains what a revocable trust is, how it works, the benefits and disadvantages, how it compares to an irrevocable trust, and what to consider before setting one u