Family Trust and new husband

Father died last year - mother now is the sole trustee of both the A trust in her name (revocable) and the B trust in my father's name (irrevocable). If she re-marries, will the new husband be entitled to any of the trust monies just by the fact that they are married? He would need to be added as a beneficiary to receive any trust property, correct? thanks

-tim

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Reply to
tfprusd
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Much of the answer depends on the wording of the trust.

Trusts have two main purposes, I believe, one, to take advantage of the Estate Tax exclusion, so that the exclusion is preserved on the first death of a couple, and not lost by leaving all to spouse directly. Two, to keep money in the bloodline, not having the new spouse inherit, all leave the old kids out in the cold. (yes, there are more reasons, keep irresponsible kids from windfalls, etc, but I think the first two are larger issues). The irrevocable trust may (should?) be worded so it offers minimum distributions to your mom. She shouldn't fall on hard times for the sake of leaving you an inheritance. Nor should she deplete it purposefully just to keep the money from you. Again, you need to ask to read the trust documents very carefully. The revocable portion may already be worded in a way that protects your interest, but as 'revocable', your mother can, well, revoke it, and add the new husband. That would need to be a new visit to the lawyer, unless the trust is already worded to address the addition of the new husband. This is the long version of "read the trust docs". It should help you understand what to look for. You have a right to ask the trustee for an accounting each year to protect yourself. JOE

Reply to
joetaxpayer

If she does nothing he shouldn't be able to get any of it. Generally these trusts are written to protect children from a remarriage but there's no telling what a lawyer could do to it. She can't add anyone as a beneficiary because the trust is irrevocable. Usually she can will any amount of Trust A to anyone, but she can't will any of Trust B to anyone other than to (usually her deceased husband's children). Hopefully (for any children) she doesn't know she can still control the trust A assets. ed

Reply to
ed

If the wording of the trust follows the normal format the new husband can't touch the money in the B trust (and isn't entitled to any of it). If your mother can draw money from the B trust and she hands it to the new husband then he would obviously have it. The A trust is trickier. If your mother adds money to the trust after her marriage the trust might become "polluted" and could be treated as community property. This is a situation that cries out for a pre-nup especially if the new husband has fewer assets than your mother has.

Reply to
Avrum Lapin

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