LIVING RICHLY SEIZING THE POTENTIAL OF INHERITED WEALTH

"Let's say you're one heck of a student of life and you feel like you've got it all figured out. Most people like surprises, at least the nice ones, and I'm convinced they're part of the mix in a healthy life. A sure way to build surprise into your life is to try new things, venture into the unknown, and—on occasion—wing it. Not sure how to wing it? No worries. No matter how ironclad your plans seem to be, just when you've got it all figured out, life has a way of throwing a wrench in your plans. Life's good like that.

If you leave trust assets to your spouse, how do you define spouse? Sounds simple till you consider the possibility of remarriage, same-sex marriage (which may not be recognized by certain governing authorities), and common-law marriage. And it gets downright muddy when multiple trustees and attorneys with different jurisdictions come into the picture. Even saying, "I want my money to go to my children" is not specific enough for this level of wealth conservation. Which children and in what amounts? Have you considered the prospects of divorces, stepchildren, and adoptions in your family? At what age and with what caveats will your beneficiaries receive their benefits? What if tax laws change and the red tape, legal fees, and management costs outweigh the "gift" you think you're providing? What if the trustee of your funds breaks your trust and squanders the money or unfairly withholds it from your children? What if you survive your own children? What if you're an income beneficiary of a trust that terminates at your death, and the corpus (property held in trust) would go to your children—but you don't have any children?

Many of the questions are tough ones. If you don't answer them, trust me, someone you don't know might do it for you. Whatever they are, I like your answers better than those of a bureaucrat interpreting legalese for you. Though the questions are difficult, taking them on is a responsibility of wealth. Welcome to planning for more than one lifetime."