A Brief Explanation of Beneficiary Trusts

A beneficiary trust is an organization or a conceptThe beneficiaries of a trust can be of two types; fixed
which provides wealth preservation, asset protectionbeneficiaries or discretionary beneficiaries. Fixed
and dynasty trust, all in one package. It offersbeneficiaries are the ones who have a straightforward
protection from estate taxes, divorcing expendituresand fixed right over the income and the capital. On the
and creditors and becomes irretrievable upon funding.other hand, discretionary beneficiaries are the ones on
Beneficiary is any person who is permitted to thewhom the trustees must take a verdict as to the
benefit of any trust arrangement. A beneficiary can berelevant prerogatives. Beneficiaries of a trust should be
a person, or even a firm or a company. It is someonedifferentiated sequentially, based on the ones with
who enjoys the benefits of your Trust assets. It mayvested interests such as the tenants for life, and those
be your wife, children, grand children or charitablewith contingent interests which include remainder men.
organizations. Generally, there are no restrictions onThey are also to be distinguished on the basis of bare
who may be a beneficiary. A beneficiary may be atrust and express trust.
minor, an unborn children or people under mentalThere is no limit on the number of pages for the Trust
disability.document. It is wiser to make it as simple as possible,
A beneficiary may be for an unlimited amount of timeas the more complicated you make it, the more
period. A beneficiary may include the original granter,complicated it is to administer. Trust assets include
but that would be self-defeating, as in that case, he willyour personal residence, your investment account,
have to carry the burden that he was trying to get ridother real estate or your business, limited only by your
of. The basic reasons for beneficiary trust are, gainingvaluable assets that you wish to contribute to your
asset protection, removal of probate, exclusion oftrust. It obtains its own federal ID and files a tax return.
estate taxes and gaining certain unusual taxDistributions to beneficiaries may or may not be
advantages. Any kind of control by the granter will turnrateable depending on the nature of the fundamental
the trust revocable and subject to court discretion.assets.
The trust is used for transfer tax purposes, whichAlthough a trust may be a business, but since it is a
means that the property is owned by the trust and isprivate contract between the granter, the trustee and
not includible in the estate of the transferor. So, onethe beneficiaries, it may be difficult for others to do
can say that it is an intentionally defective granter trust.business with you. In order to proceed in that, the other
Although for income tax purposes, the trust is aparty may be interested in having their attorney look at
granter trust, and the granter is treated as the owneryour Trust agreement.
for income tax purposes.