Guardianship – Spiritual Provision

Considering your children are the greatest gift God has given you stewardship over, choosing the right guardians is the most important decision you’ll make as you develop your estate plan. Below are three key factors for consideration when choosing guardians.

First, and most important, is to choose Christian guardians. You need to be sure that your children will continue to be brought up in God’s Word and in His ways, so that prayerfully they will end up in Heaven with you.

Fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Secondly, it’s good to consider choosing a Christian couple that lives nearby. This is usually not a critical factor when children are under age 10, or they haven’t lived in the same community for a long time. However, when children are in their teens and have been in the same community for a long time, keeping them in that community might be a good idea. Imagine a child losing their parents, as well as their friends, church, and school, all on the same day.

Lastly, consider choosing guardians who are also in the "raising children" stage of life. Think of how difficult it would be for a single person to suddenly have children who are emotionally distraught. Also, think about how difficult it might be for an elderly couple to suddenly be raising children again. In addition, if the couple is too elderly, they could pass away from old age while the children are still young. Needless to say, it would be devastating for your children to lose two sets of parents before they begin college.

Each state has its own laws governing who will qualify to be guardians of your children. In some states, you may be prohibited from choosing guardians who live outside your state unless they’re a blood relative of the child. It’s also important to note that many states will give considerable weight to a child’s personal wishes if the child is 14 years of age or older.

Don’t be nervous or afraid to ask another person or couple to be guardian(s). Keep in mind that you can always offer to do the same for them. Christians can stand in the gap for each other.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress… James 1:27 (NIV)

Children’s Trust – Financial Provision

While your children are too young to receive a lot of money all at once, you’ll probably want to make sure that your Will or Living Trust incorporates a Children’s Trust to provide for their care. This trust doesn’t exist while you’re alive; instead, it’s designed to be created if you pass away while your children are still young.

There are two common ways that attorneys draft Children’s Trusts. One way is to draft separate trusts for each child. This sounds very equitable on the surface. However, when the children are still minors, it’s not about giving an equal inheritance; it’s about dependency. The other way is to draft a joint Children’s Trust to benefit all of the children, unequally if necessary. Separate trusts are perfectly appropriate in some circumstances, but the matter of dependency is often best served with a joint Children’s Trust.

A joint Children’s Trust is designed to provide for the children’s dependency and then split things equally once your youngest child is no longer a dependent. If you had a child who was seriously injured in a car accident, you probably wouldn’t want that child to be penalized by having the expenses of surgeries and therapies come out of their separate trust. A joint Children’s Trust, on the other hand, makes sure that each child’s dependency needs have been met before the older child or children get any money. Once the children are grown up and their dependency needs have been met, you can then begin to divide what’s left between them and the ministries you love. However, you want to be careful that the children don’t get too much too soon.

An inheritance quickly gained in the beginning, will not be blessed in the end. Proverbs 20:21 (NIV)

To address this, consider having the trust distributed in increments to the children. For example, you may wish to distribute one third when the youngest turns 25, half of the balance when they turn 28, and the remainder when they turn 30. Some parents also divide the trust when their children turn 25, 30, and 35, or even 30, 35, and 40. There’s no right or wrong answer – it’s simply your personal preference.

As your Children’s Trust makes the first distribution to your children, consider giving a percentage of what’s left as a gift to your church and/or other favorite ministries. You can have a positive impact by providing for the Lord’s work in addition to teaching your children the importance of giving. This design ensures that your family’s dependency needs are met first, which is a good biblical model (see 1 Timothy 5:8). However, it’s perfectly okay to make gifts to the Lord’s work when the children are young, as long as you’re confident that there will be plenty of assets remaining to provide for your children.

Something else to prayerfully consider in the design of your Children’s Trust is whether to include the guardians' children as beneficiaries with your own children. Imagine you had a lot of money sitting in your Children’s Trust and one of the guardians' children was critically injured or ill. Would you want the trustee to be able to release funds for that child? Also imagine your children being able to afford to attend a good college, but the guardians can’t afford to send their own children to college. This could cause some resentment in this new family. If the guardians have essentially adopted your children, it seems fair to prayerfully consider financially adopting the guardians' children. If you’ve prayed about who the right guardians should be, and the Lord calls you both home, God has essentially ordained this new family.

There are some variables to consider when determining whether including the guardians' children would make sense for you. The ages of your children and the guardians' children can be a key factor. The younger each family’s children are, the more this type of planning makes sense. You might also consider the financial well-being of the guardians. The more financially well-off the guardians are, the less need there might be to include their children. Some families choose to include the guardians' children as beneficiaries of the Children’s Trust only while they are still young, and they don’t receive a share of the final distribution. Other families choose to include the guardians' children equally in every way. This would include having them receive an equal inheritance from the remainder of the trust when the children are grown.

Choosing the right person to act as the trustee of the Children’s Trust can be a difficult choice. Some couples are comfortable with the guardians overseeing the money as well as overseeing the children. While the decision is up to you, please know that this has the potential to set them up for a fall. Even if they did a terrific job managing and distributing the funds, chances are some family members will accuse them of wrongdoing, thereby jeopardizing their reputation. To avoid any inference of impropriety, you may want to consider having the trustee(s) of the Children’s Trust be someone other than the guardians. If you choose to have the guardians' children benefit from the trust also, it is highly recommended that you don’t have the guardians act as trustee.

It’s very important to choose a trustee who shares your values and/or knows and respects your values. The trustee can then incorporate those values into any arbitrary distribution decisions. For example, a trustee who shares your values probably wouldn’t give your child $75,000 to buy a new sports car when they turn 16.

Guardianship – Spiritual Provision

Considering your children are the greatest gift God has given you stewardship over, choosing the right guardians is the most important decision you’ll make as you develop your estate plan. Below are four key factors for consideration when choosing guardians.

First, and most important, is to choose Christian guardians. You need to be sure that your children continue to be brought up in His Word and in His ways, so that prayerfully they will end up in Heaven with you.

Fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Secondly, you might want to choose a Christian couple that lives nearby. This is usually not a critical factor if your children are under age 10 or if you haven’t lived in your community for a long time. However, if your children are in their teens and you’ve been in your community for a long time, it might be a good idea to keep them in the same community. Imagine your children losing their parents as well as their friends, their church, and their school all on the same day.

Thirdly, consider choosing guardians who are also in the "raising children" stage of life. Imagine how difficult it would be for a single person to suddenly have children who are emotionally distraught. Also, imagine how difficult it might be for an elderly couple to suddenly be raising children again. In addition, if the couple is too elderly, they could pass away from old age while the children are still young. Needless to say, it would be devastating for your children to lose two sets of parents before they begin college.

Lastly, some families choose an adult child as guardian of their minor children. Although this is sometimes necessary, this may not be your best choice. If you have a couple in your life that fits the criteria mentioned above, you should prayerfully consider choosing that couple. Younger children may have great difficulty accepting an older sibling as a parent, so it can create very significant relational problems for the children. Also, it might require the adult child to bring their siblings into a new marriage, which will likely be an incredible strain on the marriage. That said, sometimes parents have no other choice for a guardian, and you simply must pray and ask God to bless your plans if that situation ever becomes a reality.

Each state has its own laws governing who will qualify to be guardians of your children. In some states, you may be prohibited from choosing guardians who live outside your state unless they’re a blood relative of the child. It’s also important to note that many states will give considerable weight to a child’s personal wishes if the child is 14 years of age or older.

Don’t be nervous or afraid to ask another person or couple to be guardian(s). Keep in mind that you can always offer to do the same for them. Christians can stand in the gap for each other.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress. James 1:27 (NIV)

Children’s Trust – Financial Provision

While your children are too young to receive a lot of money all at once, you’ll probably want to make sure that your Will or Living Trust incorporates a Children’s Trust to provide for their care. This trust doesn’t exist while you’re alive; instead, it’s designed to be created if you pass away while your children are still young.

There are two common ways that attorneys draft Children’s Trusts. One way is to draft separate trusts for each child. This sounds very equitable on the surface. However, when the children are still minors, it’s not about giving an equal inheritance; it’s about dependency. The other way is to draft a joint Children’s Trust to benefit all the children, unequally if necessary. Separate trusts are perfectly appropriate in some circumstances, but the matter of dependency is often best served with a joint Children’s Trust.

A joint Children’s Trust is designed to provide for the children’s dependency and then split things equally once your youngest child is no longer a dependent. If you had a child who was seriously injured in a car accident, you probably wouldn’t want that child to be penalized by having the expenses of surgeries and therapies come out of their separate trust. A joint Children’s Trust, on the other hand, makes sure each child’s dependency needs have been met before the older child or children get any money.

Once the children are grown up and their dependency needs have been met, you can then begin to divide what’s left between them and the ministries you love. However, you want to be careful that the children don’t get too much too soon. Considering you have adult and minor children, this can be a tough reality to accept because the eldest child must wait a long time to receive any inheritance. However, there are a few key things to keep in mind. The trustee can still release funds for the older children from the trust for medical care, weddings, and other important needs. Furthermore, if you were to pass on from old age, the older children would have had to wait much longer to receive their inheritance anyway.

An inheritance quickly gained in the beginning, will not be blessed in the end. Proverbs 20:21 (NIV)

To address this, consider having the trust distributed in increments to the children. For example, you may wish to distribute one-third when the youngest turns 25, half of the balance when they turn 28, and the remainder when they turn 30. Some parents also divide the trust when their children turn 25, 30, and 35, or even 30, 35, and 40. There’s no right or wrong answer – it’s simply your personal preference.

As your Children’s Trust makes the first distribution to your children, consider giving a percentage of what’s left as a gift to your church and/or other favorite ministries. You can have a positive impact by providing for the Lord’s work in addition to teaching your children the importance of giving. This design ensures that your family’s dependency needs are met first, which is a good biblical model (see 1 Timothy 5:8). However, it’s perfectly okay to make gifts to the Lord’s work when the children are young as long as you’re confident that there will be plenty of assets remaining to provide for your children.

Something else to prayerfully consider in the design of your Children’s Trust is whether to include the guardians' children as beneficiaries with your own children. Imagine you had a lot of money sitting in your Children’s Trust, and one of the guardians' children was critically injured or ill. Would you want the trustee to be able to release funds for that child? Or imagine your children being able to afford to attend a good college, but the guardians can’t afford to send their own children to college. This could cause some resentment in this new family. If the guardians have essentially adopted your children, it seems fair to prayerfully consider financially adopting the guardians' children. If you’ve prayed about who the right guardians should be, and the Lord calls you both home, this new family has been ordained by God.

There are some variables to consider when determining whether including the guardians' children would make sense for you. The ages of your children and the guardians' children can be a key factor. The younger both sets of children are, the more this type of planning makes sense. You might also consider the financial well-being of the guardians. The more financially well-off the guardians are, the less need there might be to include their children. Some families choose to include the guardians' children as beneficiaries of the Children’s Trust only while they are still young, and they don’t receive a share of the final distribution. Other families choose to include the guardians' children equally in every way. This would include having them receive an equal inheritance from the remainder of the trust when the children are grown.

Choosing the right person to act as the trustee of the Children’s Trust can be a difficult choice. Some couples are comfortable with the guardians overseeing the money as well as overseeing the children. That’s fine, it’s up to you. But please know that this has the potential to set them up for a fall. Even if they did a terrific job managing and distributing the funds, chances are some family members will accuse them of wrongdoing, thereby jeopardizing their reputation. To avoid any inference of impropriety, you may want to consider having the trustee(s) of the Children’s Trust be someone other than the guardians. If you choose to have the guardians' children benefit from the trust also, it is highly recommended that you don’t have the guardians act as trustees.

It’s very important to choose a trustee who shares your values and/or knows and respects your values. The trustee can then incorporate those values into any arbitrary distribution decisions. For example, a trustee who shares your values probably wouldn’t give your child $75,000 to buy a new sports car when they turn 16.

Even though your children are adults, they may still be too young to receive a lot of money all at once. If so, you’ll want your Will or Living Trust to incorporate Children’s Trusts to provide for their care and distribute their inheritance in increments. These trusts don’t exist while you’re alive; instead, they’re designed to be created if you pass on while your children are still young adults. This helps to ensure that your children don’t receive too much too soon. Consider the following verse:

An inheritance quickly gained in the beginning, will not be blessed in the end. Proverbs 20:21 (NIV)

To address this, consider having the trust distributed in increments over a 5- or 10-year period. For example, you may wish to distribute one-third when they reach age 25, half of the balance when they reach age 28, and the remaining balance when they reach age 30. Some divide the trust when the child turns 25, 30, and 35, or even 30, 35, and 40. There’s no right or wrong answer – it’s simply your personal preference based on your knowledge of their ability to steward money.

As you pray about the right amount your children should receive from your estate, ask the Lord, “How much is enough for my children?” You may also want to ask, “Will the amount of inheritance I’m considering leaving my children draw them closer to You or push them further away from You?” You want to be careful they don’t receive so much from you that they stop depending on the Lord for their provisions and instead rely on their inheritance.

Another consideration is whether to give your children an inheritance while you’re alive instead of waiting until you’re in Heaven, if they have needs you can help meet today. For some families, it may be appropriate to consider whether their children need an inheritance at all. Some people’s children have plenty of assets of their own and even more than their parents. In this case, more can be given to the Lord’s work.

If you feel your children seem to be old enough and mature enough to handle large sums of money, there likely is no reason to distribute funds to them in increments through a Children’s Trust. In this case, you can simply distribute your children’s inheritance to them all at once. If you have any doubts about this, please read about providing for your children with a Trust.

As you pray about the right amount your children should receive from your estate, ask the Lord, “How much is enough for my children?” You may also want to ask, “Will the amount of inheritance I’m considering leaving my children draw them closer to You or push them further away from You?” You want to be careful they don’t receive so much from you that they stop depending on the Lord for their provisions and instead rely on their inheritance.

Another consideration is whether to give your children an inheritance while you’re alive instead of waiting until you’re in Heaven, if they have needs you can help meet today. For some families, it may be appropriate to consider whether their children need an inheritance at all. Some people’s children have plenty of assets of their own and even more than their parents. In this case, more can be given to the Lord’s work.

Planning for a wayward child may be your greatest prayer concern as you develop the right plan of stewardship for your family. The Old Testament takes a hard stance against wayward children, while the New Testament extends grace. Whether or not to disinherit a child is one of the most difficult decisions a parent can make.

He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise. Proverbs 11:29 (NIV)

…But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Luke 15:20-24 (NIV)

Please understand that you will most likely have to design two separate plans for a wayward child. The first plan is drafted into your Will or Trust now, based on the current situation. The second plan is how you will change your Will or Trust should the situation improve or deteriorate further. Keep in mind that it can be very difficult for an attorney to draft different contingencies into your legal documents based on future changes to your situation, as there are often too many variables to consider and quantify.

Given your concerns about a spendthrift child’s ability to manage money, you may want to consider including a Children’s Trust that would distribute to all your children in increments. You could also single out the spendthrift child and create an individual trust just for them. However, if you think this would cause relational problems between your children after you’re gone, having a trust for all of them might eliminate that issue, even though you are essentially forcing the other children to have a trust because of their sibling. Keep in mind that people are more important than dollars, and you want to develop your overall plan in such a way that your children will still be hugging each other long after you’re in Heaven. You could have this Children's Trust distribute one third at a given age or the survivor’s death, half of the balance a few years later, and the remaining balance a few years after the second distribution. This design ensures your children don’t get too much too soon.

An inheritance quickly gained in the beginning, will not be blessed in the end. Proverbs 20:21 (NIV)

Whether or not to leave assets to your grandchildren can be a difficult choice for some families. Consider the following scripture:

A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children… Proverbs 13:22 (NIV)

This passage would seem to support leaving assets to grandchildren. However, the greatest inheritance one can leave to grandchildren is salvation through Christ Jesus. This is the primary theme of inheritance in the New Testament. Passing on a Godly heritage, as well as praying for them and being a good witness to them, is the greatest inheritance they could ever receive.

It is hard to know how your young grandchildren will turn out as adults. They could turn from the Lord and get involved in drugs, drinking, or worse. God might not want us to entrust assets to them if they may not grow to be good stewards. Instead, you may consider leaving assets to them through their parents. This allows their parents to decide if they are worthy of receiving an inheritance and ensures that you’re not bypassing your children’s authority over their own children. Nonetheless, if you think you would like to leave assets to grandchildren directly, you could consider incorporating a Grandchildren’s Trust into your Will or Trust. This can be fairly simple or can get very complex, depending on your objectives.

Oftentimes, parents will have their Will or Trust incorporate a Special Needs Trust (SNT) for a special needs child. An SNT is designed to provide supplemental support for the child’s lifetime in such a way that the child is not disqualified from receiving government support. Some also choose to have an SNT created while the parents are still alive. This creates a historical record for the successor trustee to follow as they take over the trust when the parents pass away.

It can be difficult to determine the amount of funds to place into an SNT. Much depends on the kind of government support the child is receiving, such as SSI, SSDI, Medicare, and Medicaid, and the regulations regarding what could jeopardize that support. That said, there can be limitations on what the money can be spent on. You can typically use an SNT to pay for things such as caregiving, entertainment, vacations, cell phones, furniture, and clothing. However, paying for food and shelter can be much more complex. Since these trusts have a lot of complexities, you may consider discussing all your options with an attorney or a national health organization that provides disability support.

It’s also important to note that you can choose not to set up an SNT. You could decide that you would rather provide for your child’s needs, with your own funds, in a Children’s Trust and keep the government out of the picture. This would depend on the child’s future expected cost of living. However, if their medical and living costs are reasonable, this can be a viable option for some families. You may also need to determine whether you can or should appoint a legal guardian to care for your child once the Lord calls you home.

Developing a good plan of stewardship for blended families is more art than science. You must give careful consideration to what happens if either of you dies while the other survives. It’s important to keep in mind that you made a promise to God to take care of each other when you were married. That said, your children’s inheritance may need to take a back seat to the dependency needs of your spouse.

Many blended families will design their estate plan so that when the first spouse dies, their portion of the estate is left in an Asset Protection Trust (APT or B Trust) for the benefit of the surviving spouse. When setting up the APT, you simply name an independent trustee who will distribute assets from the trust to the survivor as needed for general living and medical expenses. Any assets remaining in the APT when the survivor dies are then passed to the first spouse’s children. In addition, should the survivor remarry, funds in the APT will not be comingled into the new marriage, which will protect the first spouse’s children from being accidentally disinherited. It can be tricky to determine how much should go into the APT. For example, if one of you brought 65% of assets into the marriage and the other brought 35%, an attorney may draft your plan so the APT is funded with those corresponding amounts based on who dies first. It’s also possible for the first to die to leave an immediate gift to their children from their share of the estate and put the remainder in the APT. This can work as long as the immediate gift to the first-to-die’s children doesn’t jeopardize the care of the survivor.

The trustee of the APT is typically not the survivor. The trustee is responsible for ensuring the survivor has the financial support needed from the APT while also protecting those assets for the first spouse’s children. To accomplish this, the trustee will take the survivor’s financial situation into consideration before releasing assets from the trust. For example, if the survivor requests money from the APT to pay for medical bills and has plenty of assets of their own to pay those bills, the trustee can decline the request.

It’s important to make special plans for your minor children when you live outside the United States. What will happen to them if you pass away? Will the country you live in allow them to be sent back to the United States? Do you want them to be sent back to the United States? If so, who will take care of those arrangements? Will you need a separate Will written by an attorney in that country that follows the country’s specific laws regarding guardianship and any assets you have there? Every country is different, so you may need to seek out professionals in your country to find the right answers and develop the appropriate plan.

If you currently have or plan to make loans to your children, outstanding debt could affect your plans for splitting your inheritance between your children and ministries. You may consider including a provision in your Will that would reduce each child’s inheritance by the amount they still owe at the death of the survivor. To effectively accomplish this, you would need to keep good records of payments and the balance due. These records would then typically be referenced in your Will along with the instructions to reduce the inheritance accordingly.

When parents have an adult child pass away, leaving a family of their own behind, it’s a good idea to take time to pray about how to bless their child’s family. If they love and trust the surviving spouse, they can simply choose to leave their child’s share of the inheritance to the spouse. The spouse can then use the assets to care for the children and leave an inheritance for them, just as the parent’s deceased child would have done. However, if they don’t have a good relationship with the surviving spouse, it’s usually best to create a trust for the grandchildren’s inheritance and name a family member or friend as trustee.

As you develop your estate plan, please take time to pray through the situation described above to determine what would be the best plan for your family.

Scripture tells us the Lord wants us to take care of our parents, especially if they are widowed.

If a woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need. 1 Timothy 5:16 (NIV)

If a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 1 Timothy 5:4 (NIV)

One way to leave assets for an elderly parent is by having your Will or Trust create a Trust for your parent if you predecease them. The assets in the Trust are designed to provide for their care, and when they pass away, the remainder is usually directed to the family or ministry. It’s also possible to have grandparents be beneficiaries of a Children’s Trust. You simply give the trustee the ability to release funds for their care.

Another great way to leave assets to a parent is through a charitable gift annuity. The gift annuity is written into your Will or Trust and is created only if you predecease your parent(s). A gift annuity pays a fixed income to your parent for their lifetime. The rate they receive is based on their age at the time of your death. For example, if your parent is age 82 at the time of your death, they might receive a rate of 8.5% for the rest of their life. These rates can change as often as twice a year. When they pass on, any remaining funds go to the ministries of your choice. If you’re interested in creating a gift annuity in your Will or Trust to benefit your parent, Orchard Alliance can help arrange this for you.

Some couples may want to create an estate plan that protects a surviving spouse who has a disability such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. This is especially true if one spouse is beginning to show a decline in mental capacity or is genetically predisposed. One solution is to create a Trust – either a Revocable Living Trust during life or a Trust created at your death for the survivor’s benefit. You can name a friend or family member to act as trustee who can protect and distribute assets for the survivor’s care.

In the event your estate is not large enough to provide full support for the survivor, you may want to consider long-term care insurance. There may be other ramifications if the survivor is on Medicaid. Each family’s situation is unique, and there are many complexities, so if you have concerns that one of you could become mentally incapacitated, it’s critically important to discuss this issue with an attorney as you fine-tune your estate plan.

If you are a homeschool family, you may want to consider how your life insurance coverage could relate to that. Homeschool families typically have three different levels of commitment to homeschooling:

1. Some families are trying homeschooling, and if it doesn’t work out, they are okay with their children attending a public or charter school. If this is how you feel, then homeschooling shouldn’t be a concern regarding your estate planning.

2. Some families feel if homeschooling doesn’t work out, the only other option is putting their children in a private Christian School. If this describes your family, then you need to make sure that you have enough life insurance and other assets so that if one of you passes away, the other will be able to afford to put your children in a private school.

3. Some families are deeply committed to homeschooling and feel very strongly that it is the only choice for their children. If homeschooling is the only option for your family, then you’ll want to make sure that you have the financial security for the surviving spouse to continue homeschooling if one of you passes away. You need to make sure that your financial assets, combined with life insurance, would be able to replace your family income so that the survivor won’t have to work outside the home. You’ll also want to choose another homeschool family to be guardians of your children should both of you pass away.

If you have any doubt as to whether you have enough financial security to achieve your homeschool family objectives in the absence of either parent, seek advice from your life insurance agent.

It probably comes as no surprise to you that if you’re an American citizen with assets in other countries, Uncle Sam wants to include those assets in your taxable estate. It is recommended that you meet with an attorney in whatever foreign nations you own assets to understand that nation’s laws regarding your assets. For example, if you own a vacation home in another country, you may need a Will drafted in that country to transfer the home at your death.

An unlimited marital deduction is available when a non-citizen leaves U.S. property to an American citizen surviving spouse. This means a non-citizen can leave as much as they want to their American citizen spouse without estate tax. However, the reverse is not true. When an American citizen transfers assets to a non-citizen spouse, the same unlimited marital deduction is only available if the assets are transferred into a qualified domestic Trust for the non-citizen spouse.

When there is little or no life insurance on one spouse, sometimes this indicates inadequate financial protection for the family. That doesn’t mean that you have a problem. It just means that if you haven’t thoroughly addressed this issue with your life insurance agent, you probably should.

It’s important for you to understand what your goals are as a family if something happens to either one of you. For example, will the primary income earner need to quit their job and stay home to be with the children as they mourn? If so, would this be for 6 months or until the children are grown?

It can be very difficult to design the right estate plan when it comes to family farms, vacation homes, or other property passed down through generations. One of the most difficult issues is that each generation brings more owners, and every owner brings their own personal beliefs, finances, and family relationships to the table. The result of this is often family squabbles which cause the property to become a burden for future generations instead of a blessing. Furthermore, the property can become impossible to use or sell once the number of owners becomes so large that it’s difficult to come to a consensus on important decisions. If you decide to leave family property to your loved ones, there should be a really good reason to do so because this decision could cause relational problems between them.

One way families can avoid this is by creating a tradition of having the property pass to the eldest child and instructing the eldest child to allow the other children to use the property. You can also place family property in a Land Trust with enough cash to cover expenses for many years and name a trustee to oversee the Trust and property. This Trust can be designed to terminate after one or more generations. Orchard Alliance consultants are available to help with this.