Establishing a trust allows parents, relatives or guardians to allocate assets for the education, health care or upkeep of a minor or a child. Understanding how a trust can impact tax liability, Medicaid eligibility or student financial aid is important when determining how to structure a trust. To ensure that trust funds are available when a beneficiary needs them, important considerations must be taken into account when appointing a trustee.
I am Richard A. Sarner of Zeldes, Needle & Cooper, P.C., and I consult with tax experts, accountants and financial experts to create trusts for children and minors. I evaluate your current financial situation and discuss allowances within the tax code, Medicaid and the law that can be used to leverage available assets for various purposes, while protecting them at the same time.
If you have a child or minor whose health or financial needs can be secured through a trust, contact me in Stamford, Connecticut, or New York City.
I advise and represent clients in regard to the following:
To establish a trust, a trustee must be appointed to manage its funds. In general, there are two kinds of trustees: corporate trustees and family trustees. Corporate trustees are banks or other financial service companies bonded and insured. They charge more for their services, but they also provide more transparency and administrative oversight. Additionally, corporate trustees usually prepare annual reports and tax returns on the trusts they manage. Family trustees have more discretion to handle funds as they see fit. However, they are almost never ensured and may not provide any checks and balances to prevent financial mismanagement.
I can help you determine whether a corporate or family trustee makes the most sense for you. While each has a fiduciary responsibility to the beneficiary of a trust, there are pros and cons associated with corporate and private trustees. I assist clients in creating checks and balances that provide reporting, investment and accounting responsibilities that make it more difficult for trustees to violate their fiduciary responsibilities.
There are a number of financial and legal issues that must be considered when establishing a trust for a child or minor. To learn more about how I can help you and your family, contact me today.