What Is the Point of a Trust?

What Is the Point of a Trust?

A trust is an agreement made when a person, referred to as the trustor or grantor, gives a third party, known as the trustee, the authority to hold assets for the trust beneficiaries. The trustee is in charge of the trust and responsible for executing the trust’s instructions as per the language in the trust, explains a recent article from The Skim, “What is a Trust? (Spoiler: They’re Not Just for the Wealthy).”

Some examples of how trusts are used: if the grantor doesn’t want beneficiaries to have access to funds until they reach a certain age, the trustee will not distribute anything until the age as directed by the trust. The funds could also be solely used for the beneficiaries’ health care needs or education or whatever expense the grantor has named, the trustee decides when the funds should be released.

Trusts are not one-size-fits-all. There are many to choose from. For instance, if you wanted the bulk of your assets to go to your grandchildren, you might use a Generation-Skipping Trust. If you think your home’s value may skyrocket after you die, you might want to consider a Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) to reduce taxes.

Trusts fall into a few categories:

Testamentary Trust vs. Living Trust

A testamentary trust is known as a “trust under will” and is created based on provisions in the will after the grantor dies. A testamentary trust fund can be used to make gifts to charities or provide lifetime income for loved ones.

In most cases, trusts don’t have to go through the probate process, that is, being validated by the court before beneficiaries can receive their inheritance. However, because the testamentary trust is tied to the will, it is subject to probate. Your heirs may have to wait until the probate process is completed to receive their inheritance. This varies by state, so ask an estate planning attorney in your state.

Living trusts are created while you are living and are also known as revocable trusts. As the grantor, you may make as many changes as you like to the trust terms while living. Once you die, the trust becomes an irrevocable trust and the terms cannot be changed. There’s no need for the trust to go through probate and beneficiaries receive inheritances as per the directions in the trust.

What are the key benefits of creating a trust? A trust doesn’t always need to go through probate and gives you greater control over the assets. If you create an irrevocable trust and fund it while living, your assets are removed from your probate estate, which means whatever assets are moved into the trust are not subject to estate taxes.

Are there any reasons not to create a trust? There are costs associated with creating a trust. The trust must also be funded, meaning ownership documents like titles for a car or deeds for a house have to be revised to place the asset under the control of the trust. The same is true for stocks, bank accounts and any other asset used to fund the trust.

For gaining more control over your assets, minimizing estate taxes and making life easier for those you love after you pass, trusts are a valuable tool. Speak with your estate planning attorney to find out which trust works best for your situation. Your estate plan and any trusts should complement each other.

Reference: The Skim (Oct. 26, 2022) “What is a Trust? (Spoiler: They’re Not Just for the Wealthy)”

How Does the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Work in Estate Planning?

How Does the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Work in Estate Planning?

The generation-skipping transfer tax, also called the generation-skipping tax, can apply when a grandparent leaves assets to a grandchild—skipping over their parents in the line of inheritance. It can also be triggered, when leaving assets to someone who’s at least 37½ years younger than you. If you are thinking about “skipping” any of your heirs when passing on assets, it is important to know what that may mean tax-wise and how to fill out the requisite form. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you and counsel you on the best way to pass along your estate to your beneficiaries.

KAKE.com’s recent article entitled “What Is the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax?” says the tax code imposes both gift and estate taxes on transfers of assets above certain limits. For 2020, you can exclude gifts of up to $15,000 per person from the gift tax, with the limit twice as much for married couples who file a joint return. Estate tax applies to estates larger than $11,580,000 for 2020, increased to $11,700,000 in 2021.

The gift tax rate can be as high as 40%, and the estate tax is also 40% at the top end. The IRS uses the generation-skipping transfer tax to collect its portion of any wealth that is transferred across families, when not passed directly from parent to child. Assets subject to the generation-skipping tax are taxed at a flat 40% rate.

Note that the GSTT can apply to both direct transfers of assets to your beneficiaries and to assets passing through a trust. A trust can be subject to the GSTT, if all trust beneficiaries are considered to be skip persons who have a direct interest in the trust.

The generation-skipping tax is a separate tax from the estate tax, but it applies alongside it. Similar to the estate tax, this tax begins when an estate’s value exceeds the annual exemption limits. The 40% GSTT would be applied to any transfers of assets above the exempt amount, in addition to the regular 40% estate tax.

That is the way the IRS gets its money on wealth, as it moves from one person to another. If you passed your estate to your child, who then passes it to their child then no GSTT would apply. The IRS would just collect estate taxes from each successive generation. However, if you skip your child and leave assets to your grandchild, it eliminates a link from the taxation chain, and the GSTT lets the IRS replace that link.

You can use your lifetime estate and gift tax exemption limits, which can help to offset how much is owed for the generation-skipping tax. However, any unused portion of the exemption counted toward the generation-skipping tax is lost when you pass away.

If you’d like to minimize estate and gift taxes as much as possible, there are several options. Your experienced estate planning attorney might suggest giving assets to your grandchildren or another generation-skipping person annually, rather than at the end of your life. That’s because you can give up to $15,000 per person each year without incurring gift tax, or up to $30,000 per person if you’re married and file a joint return. Just keep the lifetime exemption limits in mind when planning gifts.

You could also make payments on behalf of a beneficiary to avoid tax. For instance, to help your granddaughter with college costs, any direct payments you make to the school to cover tuition would generally be tax-free. The same is true for direct payments made to healthcare providers, if you’re paying medical expenses on behalf of another.

Another option may be a generation-skipping trust that lets you transfer assets to the trust and pay estate taxes at the time of the transfer. The assets you put into the trust must stay there during the skipped generation’s lifetime. Once they die, the trust assets can be passed on tax-free to the next generation.

There’s also a dynasty trust. This trust can let you pass assets to future generations without triggering estate, gift, or generation-skipping taxes. However, they are meant to be long-term trusts. You can name your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and subsequent generations as beneficiaries and the transfer of assets to the trust is irrevocable. Therefore, when you place the assets in the trust, you will not be able to take them back out again. You can see why it’s so important to understand the implications, before creating this type of trust.

The generation-skipping tax can make a big impact on the assets you’re able to leave to heirs. If you’re considering using this type of trust to pass on assets or you’re interested in exploring other ways to transfer assets while minimizing taxes, speak to an experienced estate planning attorney.

Reference: KAKE.com (Feb. 6, 2021) “What Is the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax?”