Family Trust Planning: Back to Basics

While many clients establish trusts and execute estate plans to eliminate or reduce the estate tax burden of their estates, there are non-tax benefits to creating trusts that are especially relevant to the clients of family lawyers. With the possibility of estate tax repeal on the horizon, the timing is right to focus on these non-tax benefits and remind ourselves and our clients of the valuable protections and control available through the use of trusts. Regardless of whether or not the federal estate tax is permanently repealed, the possibility of such repeal allows us to put aside many of the complexities of tax planning and focus on the key family issues and concerns that motivate clients to initiate trust planning.