• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • WHO WE ARE
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • News and Events
  • Areas We Serve
    • Essex County, MA
      • Andover
      • Beverly
      • North Andover
    • Hillsborough County, NH
      • Manchester
      • Nashua
    • Middlesex County, MA
      • Concord
      • Lexington
      • Wakefield
      • Winchester
      • Woburn
    • Rockingham County, NH
      • Exeter
      • Londonderry
      • Salem
  • Services
    • Asset & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate And Gift Tax Figures
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Legacy Planning Services
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Loss Of A Loved One
    • Pet Planning
    • Power Of Attorney
    • Probate and Trust Administration
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Young Families
  • Elder Law
    • Coping with Alzheimer’s
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Nursing Home Planning
  • Resources
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder law reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Elder Law Resources – Londonderry, New Hampshire
        • Elder Law Resources North Andover, Massachusetts
        • Nashua, New Hampshire Elder Law Resources
        • Woburn, MA Elder Law Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning Articles
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Business Planning
      • Charitable Gifting
      • Estate Planning
      • Elder Law
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Medicaid Calculator
    • Newsletters
    • Presentations
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss Of A Loved One
      • Probate Resources
        • Nashua, New Hampshire Probate Resources
        • Probate Resources – Londonderry, New Hampshire
        • Probate Resources – North Andover, MA
        • Probate Resources – Wakefield, Massachusetts
        • Woburn, MA Probate Resources
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
    • Published Books
  • Seminars
    • Live Seminars
    • Online Seminars
  • Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us

DeBruyckere Law Offices, PC

Serving Southern New Hampshire & Essex Country, Massachussetts

Call us today(603) 894-4141

(978) 969-0331

Online Seminars
Attend Free Seminar
Home » Estate Planning » Who Should Guard the Inheritance I Leave My Young Child?

Who Should Guard the Inheritance I Leave My Young Child?

October 24, 2019Estate Planning

North Andover area estate planning attorney

There is no incentive more powerful for creating an estate plan than becoming a parent. From the moment you learned that you were going to have a child you undoubtedly started worrying about protecting and providing for your child. While leaving your child a sizeable inheritance is certainly an important part of protecting and providing for your child, you cannot stop there. As a North Andover area estate planning lawyer at DeBruyckere Law Offices explains, you must also designate someone to guard your child’s inheritance.

Why Your Will …Won’t Work

Most people rely on a Last Will and Testament to pass down their estate assets when they create an initial estate plan. While a Will can be used to distribute your entire estate, there are several reasons why you may not want to rely solely on your Will to pass down an inheritance intended for your minor child. The most important reason that parents with minor children don’t want to use a Will to pass down a minor child’s inheritance is that a minor cannot legally inherit directly from the estate of a parent. Consequently, if you do gift assets to your minor child in your Will, an adult must manage those assets until the child reaches adulthood. Under that scenario, a court will likely be charged with choosing who that adult will be and you lose out on the opportunity to provide directions and/or instructions regarding how you want those assets to be managed and eventually distributed. Using a trust to protect your child’s inheritance is often a better choice for the parent of a minor child.

Trust Basics

A trust is a legal relationship where property is held by one party for the benefit of another party. The person who creates a trust is referred to as the “Settlor”, “Trustor” or “Grantor.” The Settlor transfers property to a Trustee, appointed by the Settlor. The Trustee holds that property for the trust’s beneficiaries as well as invests trust assets and administers the trust terms according to the terms created by the Settlor. Trusts are broadly categorized as testamentary or living trusts with the former activating after the Settlor’s death and the latter activating during the Settlor’s lifetime. For the parents of a young child, the most important aspect of a trust is the ability to choose the Trustee who will manage, invest, and distribute the assets held in the trust.

Choosing Your Trustee – 4 Factors to Consider

When you create a trust you will need to appoint a Trustee. A Trustee has a number of important duties and responsibilities; however, the most important one for you to remember is guarding your child’s inheritance. If that in mind, consider the following four factors when choosing your Trustee:

  1. Willingness to honor your wishes – a Trustee is legally obligated to abide by the trust terms as written by the Settlor. A Trustee must also have some discretion though which means that your Trustee needs to understand what you would do and be prepared to make decisions based on that knowledge. Make sure you appoint someone who will honor your wishes and further the trust purpose as stated by you, even if they don’t agree.
  2. Experience/skills – your first inclination may be to appoint a spouse or family member; however, your Trustee will need to understand the applicable laws and financial concepts necessary to successfully administer the trust.  If your spouse/family member lacks these skills, you may wish to consider appointing a professional Trustee.
  3. Lack of conflicts – you should appoint someone who is not likely to have a conflict of interest with the trust beneficiaries. This is another reason why a professional Trustee is often the best option.
  4. Willingness to serve –if an individual is unwilling or unable to serve, nothing else really matters. All too often, people often fail to sit down with a prospective Trustee and ask if he/she is willing to serve in the position. There are a number of legitimate reasons why someone might not feel comfortable serving, including the possibility that they might be grieving your loss and emotionally unable to handle the job.

Contact a North Andover Area Estate Planning Lawyer

For more information, please download our FREE estate planning worksheet. If you have additional questions or concerns relating to the inheritance you plan to leave your young child, contact a North Andover area estate planning lawyer at DeBruyckere Law Offices by calling (603) 894-4141 or (978) 969-0331 to schedule an appointment.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Daniel DeBruyckere
Daniel DeBruyckere
Attorney Daniel A. DeBruyckere has been practicing law in New Hampshire and Massachusetts since 1998, and has helped hundreds of clients with their estate planning and elder care issues. He is very well respected in the area of estate planning, probate, trust administration, elder law issues, and business planning.
Daniel DeBruyckere
Latest posts by Daniel DeBruyckere (see all)
  • Do I Need an Attorney to Administer a Trust? - January 26, 2023
  • How Using a Trust Can Protect a Valuable Inheritance - January 24, 2023
  • What Seniors Need to Know to Protect Assets - January 19, 2023

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Beverly estate planning attorney
Do We Need an Estate Plan If We Do Not Plan to Have Children?
Beverly estate planning attorneys
Am I Entitled to Social Security Based on My Spouse?
Beverly estate planning attorney
Make Reviewing Your Estate Plan Your New Year’s Resolution
Common Mistakes In Estate Planning 150x150
Common Mistakes in Estate Planning – Part III
Common Mistakes In Estate Planning 150x150
Common Mistakes in Estate Planning – IV
Beverly estate planning attorneys
15 Things to Do Following the Death of a Loved One

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram

Blog Subscribe

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

DeBruyckere Law Offices, PC footer

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
footer-logo

© 2023 DeBruyckere Law Offices
All Right Reseved.

Attorney Advertisement

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.