As you embark on your estate planning journey, you might find yourself thinking about the best way to make your wealth last. While you can specify to whom your assets will be left through your estate plan, many people neglect to consider what they can do to control how those assets are released and used.
Fortunately, if you’re concerned about your hard-earned wealth being squandered away, then you can take steps to control your estate to better ensure its longevity.
How can you protect the longevity of your estate?
There are several ways to ensure that your wealth will survive in the long-term, but how you approach the matter will depend on the specific issues at hand and your ultimate goals. That said, here are some common ways to protect your estate in the long-term:
- Use a generation-skipping trust that provides assets directly to your grandchildren, ensuring that your assets will be available for them to use once they reach the age of majority.
- Create a spendthrift trust that will prevent your loved one from spending away assets too quickly.
- Utilize a discretionary trust so that the named trustee, which is hopefully someone you trust, will make decisions about when to release trust assets.
- Create an incentive trust, whereby the release of trust assets will be triggered by a condition that you identify in writing.
Create an estate plan that meets your goals
There are other ways you can extend the life of your estate. So, if this is something you’re interested in accomplishing in your estate plan, then now is the time to figure out your options and choose those that are right for you and your family. Only then can you rest easy knowing that you’ve create an estate plan that meets your goals.