When you work on your New Hampshire estate plan, you may try to create one that helps you maximize how much of your legacy you get to leave behind. Your estate plan may contain any number of different elements. While a will is a key part of any estate plan, there are limits to what you might be able to do with one.
Trusts are another estate planning option that may appeal to you if you have particular estate planning goals in mind that a will does not help you accomplish. Trusts come in different types and may serve any number of specific purposes, but many people create them if they wish to do the following.
Protect public assistance eligibility
If you have loved ones who use public benefits, they may have to participate in means-testing to determine ongoing eligibility. Depending on how much you leave these individuals in a will, your assets may place them over the threshold needed to collect these benefits. Placing assets into trusts helps you circumvent this because those assets do not come into play when your loved one undergoes means-testing.
Manage or control spending
A trust also gives you a way to set limitations as far as when your beneficiaries might access what you leave for them and for what purpose. For example, you may stipulate that your trustee is only to distribute assets from the trust when your beneficiary reaches a certain age, completes a particular stage of life (such as college) or what have you.
This is a brief overview of some of the many estate planning goals you may be able to accomplish by creating a trust. You may also find that a trust helps you reduce tax obligations or manage unique, non-divisible assets, among other objectives.
