Making a Positive Impact

Want to motivate your loved ones? Consider an incentive trust

On Behalf of | Oct 11, 2021 | Estate Planning |

A lot of people who engage in estate planning worry about whether they’re doing the right thing. Even though estate planning is about controlling how assets will be distributed upon your passing, far too often estate planners feel like they’re losing control. But there are viable ways to control your assets for some time to come while also ensuring that you’re motivating your loved ones to act in a certain way.

How to utilize an incentive trust

An incentive trust is a great way to achieve both goals. Here, you place assets into a trust which then supports a named beneficiary through periodic payments. The balance of the trust, though, won’t be made available until he or she compiles with a specified condition. For example, you could leave assets to your grandson with the bulk of the trust funds being released only upon his graduation from college.

You can be creative here, too. If you have a loved one who is struggling with addiction problems, then you can use the release of trust funds to motivate him or her to complete some form of treatment. You can also drive a loved one to get married, have children, or keep employment for a certain period of time. That last condition is often used to ensure that a loved one doesn’t blow through an inheritance too quickly.

Focus on what’s important to you

Sure, estate planning is about focusing on what’s going to happen to your estate after you’re gone. But it’s also about furthering your values so that you can still have an impact on your family’s future. That’s why it’s important to be diligent and holistic in the creation of your estate plan, keeping in mind that through your estate planning options, you retain a significant amount of power.

 

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