Estate Planning For Irresponsible Child

Estate planning allows you to put down in words what you want to happen after your death. It will be invaluable for those that you leave behind and make things much easier for them when they are sorting out your affairs. This will include letting them know where you have stored your Will so they have easy access to it in due course. Estate planning for parents who have a child that can be considered to be irresponsible with their money or have a history of brushes with the law or substance abuse can be more challenging. It is for this reason that having a Will is absolutely vital. In this article, estate planning for irresponsible child, we take a look at these issues in more depth and describe the mechanism involved.

Free Initial Telephone Discussion

For a free initial discussion on how we can help you plan your estate and create your Will, get in touch with us today. We are experienced in dealing with estate planning for parents with irresponsible child and we will review your situation and discuss the options open to you in a clear and approachable manner. Early expert legal assistance can help ensure your final wishes are accurately recorded and also avoid the stress of dealing with these issues on your own.  A well-constructed estate plan can provide you with peace of mind and also help those administering your estate. Simply call us on 0345 901 0445, or click here to make a free enquiry and a member of the team will get back to you.

What are the main points to consider?

1. Wills and Trusts

Although a Will lays out how your assets will be distributed, a trust is often a better option for many families. A trust is a valuable estate planning tool that allows you to deposit assets, including cash, property, and other investments, into the trust account during your lifetime.

A trust allows you more control over how and when an inheritance is distributed to a child by putting a trustee, sometimes a trusted friend or relative, in charge of managing the assets. The trustee could also be the solicitor who drafted the trust or a financial institution like a bank.

2. What is a discretionary trust?

With a discretionary trust, you will leave your estate (or a part of it) to a trust. You decide who the potential beneficiaries of this trust will be, which can include people who are yet to be born such as future grandchildren.

The people you have appointed to manage the trust (known as the trustees) can use their discretion to decide which, of the potential beneficiaries you’ve named, will become beneficiaries. The trustees have complete discretion, which is why they are called discretionary trusts.

A discretionary trust is extremely useful if you are not entirely sure how you want to distribute your estate. By making a discretionary trust, you pass the decision of how and when the trust will be distributed over to the trustees, who make the decision for you. When setting up the trust in your Will, you will specify which assets from your estate should be included in the trust and the names of potential beneficiaries. You then give power to your trustees to decide how and when the trust is going to be distributed and to whom.

A discretionary trust is an excellent way of leaving money to an irresponsible child. In this way the trust allows you to effectively ‘defer’ their rights to the assets until the trustees feel that it’s appropriate.

3. What are “Letters of wishes”?

This is a letter in which you can advise when, and in what circumstances, you would like your beneficiaries to receive their assets. The trustees can take these wishes into consideration but are by no means bound by them if they feel it is in the best interests of the beneficiaries.

4. Why use a discretionary trust?

Because the trustees you appoint will have total control over when to release a beneficiary’s inheritance, it enables you to potentially leave assets to an irresponsible child.

This is a huge advantage of a discretionary trust, as trustees can ensure the beneficiaries are looked after, but you can rest assured that the assets will not be squandered.

In some situations, you can also request that a beneficiary’s share is only released in certain circumstances. For instance, if your child has an addiction, you can say that he should only receive his inheritance if he recovers from his illness. If he does not, his share should be divided amongst your other children.

Is there a recognised standard for writing a will?

In theory, you can write your Will on the back of an envelope. However, as it is a legally binding document it must meet certain criteria. It needs to be witnessed and signed by two independent adults and dated. These witnesses cannot inherit anything from your Will or benefit from your Will in any way (although they can act as executors). Your Will should also name your executors, who are authorized to gather in your assets and divide them up according to your instructions. This process is known as probate. As long as the executor is not a witness, they can be a beneficiary of the Will.

How we can help

We have a proven track record of helping clients plan their estates and draft their Wills. This includes relatively straightforward estates but also complex estates where assets are held all over the world. We will guide you through all the necessary legal due diligence in a comprehensive and timely manner. We firmly believe that with the right solicitors by your side, the entire process will seem more manageable and far less daunting.

How to Contact our Wills and Probate Solicitors

It is important for you to be well informed about the issues and possible implications of planning your estate and writing your Will. However, expert legal support is crucial in terms of ensuring your final wishes are met as you would want them to be.

To speak to our Wills and Probate solicitors today, simply call us on 0345 901 0445, or click here to make a free enquiry. We are well known across the country and can assist wherever you are based. We also have offices based in Cheshire and London.

Authored by Ben Posted in News, Private Client Tagged as