People often think of asset distribution as something that happens almost immediately after a person dies. When a parent passes away, heirs get an inheritance and they can use it once they’ve collected it from the estate. The will is just a document that tells them how much they’re going to get for their inheritance.
Certainly, if you’d like to set things up this way, you can do so. Many people do. They just want to control their assets until they pass away and then they immediately want to give them to the next generation. But don’t make the mistake of assuming that this is what you have to do. There are actually other options that may help in certain situations.
A trust based on age
For example, one potential option may be to put the money into a trust. You do this instead of listing it in the will, so the trust controls it. The trustee is the one who then uses that money to pay your heir for certain things. For instance, an educational trust can be used to pay for college tuition.
But if you just want to delay how quickly your heir gets the money, you can make the trust based on age. When they hit different ages, then they’re allowed to collect. For instance, an heir may only be 18 years old right now and may be too irresponsible to handle the money. But you could give them $10,000 immediately and put the rest in the trust so that they don’t get it until they turn 30.
This is just one example of how age can be used in a trust, If you believe that this is something that could help your estate plan, make sure you know how to set it up.