Don't Take What's Mine

Matt, 38, and Elizabeth, 35, are happily married with two children. Matt is the breadwinner of the family, and has been working as an engineer for over eight years. Elizabeth is a stay at home mom. They own a home in the suburbs, but have always dreamed of owning a second home on the beach, where they had both vacationed in the summers growing up.

Matt felt very confident with his career trajectory so they decided to purchase that second home, with the understanding that by doing so, money may be tight for a few years.

Three years later, Matt’s company underwent a merger, where his entire department was laid off. During this time, Matt struggled to maintain the lifestyle he and his family were accustomed to. Their household expenses along with the two mortgages started to add up. Matt struggled to find a job with a comparable salary to maintain it all. Matt’s wife even tried to find a part-time job, but there weren’t any jobs offering health benefits and with their young childrens' frequent visits to the doctors’ office, the medical bills started to put an additional strain on their already fixed expenses. They utilized all the savings they had accrued over the years to keep up with all the bills. In an attempt to stabilize their finances, Matt and Elizabeth agreed to sell their dream home on the beach. However, the housing market was not favorable at that time and they actually ended up taking a loss on the sale of the house. This was the tipping point for them. They were once excited about their future plans, now they find themselves in a substantial amount of debt.

Shortly thereafter, Matt’s father Tom, 70, was diagnosed with advancing stage 4 terminal cancer. With the realization that he might not have that much time left, Tom arranged a meeting with his Financial Professional to discuss setting up an estate plan. Matt is his only child, so he wants to leave a majority of his legacy to him and his family, but is concerned that if he leaves his estate to Matt, the funds in the estate could be sought after by creditors. Tom is determined that the money from his estate be used for Matt and his family’s benefit.

His Financial Professional understands his concerns and suggests that Tom establish a trust to transfer his wealth. The trust will allow him to maintain control over how, when, where, and why the funds can be accessed, ensuring any assets placed in the trust will be used for the beneficiaries benefit, and will be protected from any creditors. After some careful consideration, Tom creates an irrevocable trust in which he is the grantor and Matt is the beneficiary and as his Financial Professional recommended, Tom outlines specific instructions within the trust for how the assets will be distributed to the family throughout the years.

After the Trust was drafted, Tom had confidence knowing that no matter the future holds for him, his legacy will be protected and his family will be able enjoy the lifestyle that they were once accustomed to.