A land trust is a private legal agreement that transfers a property title from the owner to a trustee. The trustee agrees to hold that title for the benefit of another party. The creator of the trust, known as the trustor, is typically the primary beneficiary for their lifetime. This party retains complete use of the land and owns the beneficial interest thereof. Land trusts are generally revocable, meaning the trustor may modify or terminate the

When you hold an IRA, those funds can be distributed to the person you name as the beneficiary or to an inheritance trust. Some IRA owners choose a trust because it gives them a degree of control over how the assets are distributed after they die. Before you name a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA, however, consider the pros and cons. Designating a trust as beneficiary can be useful if the intended beneficiary has

A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) is an estate planning tool that can be used to lock in the current estate tax exemption while still allowing a certain degree of access to trust assets. SLAT basics A SLAT is an irrevocable trust created by one spouse for the benefit of the other. The gift removes assets from your estate but allows your spouse to access the trust. It provides you with indirect access to the funds

When dealing with irrevocable trusts the ability to effect change can be difficult to understand, presenting more questions than answers. The correct answers often depend on a variety of factors, but a good starting point is state law and the trust document itself. When modification or termination of an irrevocable trust is sought, a possible mechanism is for the trustee or beneficiary to seek a court order.

Buried in a new federal law is a tiny change that will now allow individuals to set up their own special needs trusts. The sum total of the change is two words — “the individual” — intended to correct a more than 20-year-old error. The change is called the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act. Authorized under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, special needs trusts protect assets and allow an individual to maintain eligibility for

It’s important to review a revocable trust regularly to see if any amendments are needed, such as when something changes in your life or if the law changes. There are two ways to go about it. You can either amend the existing trust to change a certain part of it or rewrite the whole trust, which is known as a restatement. While you might expect that an amendment is easier and more cost-effective, that’s not always

People who set up trusts for children, grandchildren and other family members have a greater ability to limit the beneficiaries’ right to challenge trustees’ decisions in court, as a result of a new U.S. Tax Court decision. Here’s the background: You may know that you can give up to $14,000 a year to any person without incurring the federal gift tax. But that rule generally doesn’t apply if you put the money in a trust for