Gift-Giving with Trusts

The drawback to lifetime gifts is that you may lose control of the money. Even assuming you leave yourself enough to live on comfortably, the beneficiary (usually a child) may not be responsible enough to handle that kind of money wisely. As chapters 9-12 point out, trusts are a good way to avoid this total loss of control.

A Versatile Tool

Trusts have many non-tax benefits including divorce protection, predator protection, and they can provide a means of passing on the responsibility, as well as the value, of the assets to loved ones.