Advanced estate planning goes into different realms of asset management that reflect your goals and passions. Are you looking to benefit society as a whole, provide for a permanently dependent family member or ensure your basic healthcare needs are met? Going beyond the basic measures can provide the solution you seek.
John Kenney & Associates, PLLC in Poulsbo offers the background and expertise for estate matters requiring more than a basic will and trust. If looking for options to manage your larger estate or creative goals and concerns, give us a call at (360) 850-1049 to schedule a consultation.
Charitable Trusts
If you have a favorite cause and want to assure it continuous support, placing your assets in a charitable trust can help meet this goal. It can be a testamentary trust that forms upon your death or you can set one up now. Offering tax benefits, it can also set some assets aside and reduce the amount of your estate for tax considerations.
Irrevocable Trusts
The benefit of this trust is that it can remove assets from your ownership while still providing benefits for you and/or your beneficiaries. It also allows you to retain some amount of control by you and/or your beneficiaries. Instead, your property is invested and generates income for your beneficiaries.
Children’s & Grandchildren’s Gifting Trusts
When your children or grandchildren have not reached majority, or they have but need some more protection, this type of trust manages assets until they can start receiving payments. These assets will be protected from your creditors and your descendants’ creditors so they can benefit from them when they need them.
Special Needs Trusts
Passing property to a relative with a disability can compromise their ability to receive benefits and leave them impoverished. A special needs trust was developed for this purpose. Your loved one can receive income from your assets, private disability, and Social Security, ensuring their long term approach. If you have a child, spouse or other relative who requires supplemental income, you may wish to discuss this option further.
Land Trusts
Land trusts are often perceived in the non-profit context where an organization takes ownership of land for conservation purposes. However, this also has a private purpose: transferring land into a trust so it can be used to benefit another party. Offering many of the same advantages of other trusts, you may wish to consider this option to decrease your tax burden, protect land from creditors or to simply provide investment income to a family member.
Qualified Personal Residence Trust
Placing your residence into a trust means that property’s value and appreciation will not be considered in calculating your estate’s value for tax purposes. If you arrange for your residence to transfer upon your death, the recipient can pay a lower gift tax rate instead of the inheritance tax.
Sale To An Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust
Another gifting trust, this is set up to remove real estate and other appreciating holdings from your estate value. However, unlike other types of trusts, you can still maintain some control without the estate tax consequences. As this applies to fairly complex situations, only a consultation with an attorney can determine if this is appropriate for your goals.
Dynasty Trusts
This trust is built to last. It can protect your assets from creditors, as well as protecting your descendants’ interests from creditors, former spouses and even their own spendthrift tendencies. If you have substantial wealth and want a very long term approach, this vehicle helps avoid estate taxes for several generations.
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILIT)
Designating a trust as your life insurance beneficiary means fewer changes should you get divorced or beneficiaries predecease you. Also, it means that life insurance proceeds can be grouped together in one trust to help many family members and provide management for those funds. The most promising benefit of an ILIT is that if done properly, all of the death benefits of the insurance can avoid estate tax.
Medicaid Saving Trust
Holding too many assets can compromise qualifying for Medicaid, meaning one catastrophic health incident can wipe out your savings and your assets. Receive the protection of Medicaid insurance while keeping your income sources safe with a Medicaid Saving Trust. Move your assets into this trust so your assets are preserved even when your health takes a bad turn. We review your assets and circumstances thoroughly to examine the best option for your needs.
Your Advanced Estate Planning Partner
At John Kenney & Associates, we know that estate planning goes beyond a fill-in-the-blank process. We have the knowledge base necessary to find a customized strategy for using your funds and property after your death or incapacitation. To start the process of finding advanced estate planning options, give John Kenney & Associates a call at (360) 850-1049.
John Kenney & Associates, PLLC proudly serves the following locations: Poulsbo, Kingston, Bainbridge Island, Silverdale, Bremerton, Port Orchard, Seattle, Tacoma, Kitsap County, King County, Jefferson County, Clallam County, Mason County, Pierce County, Thurston County, Snohomish County and the entire Puget Sound region.
