Trust for Minor Children

Our Idaho Estate Planning Attorneys understand that the single most important thing parents of minor children can do is to complete their Estate Planning. When this is done correctly, parents with young children, are assured that they have a plan in place that will provide financially for their child or children until they reach an age when they are ready to handle their own finances.

When a customized Estate Plan is completed our Estate Planning Lawyers in Idaho know that our clients are protected individually while they are alive and that after their death their loved ones, including their minor children will be provided for. Death affects all of us. We take pride in helping our clients have peace of mind in knowing that their loved ones will be protected and provided for financially. Our experienced Lawyers create an Estate Planning team that includes partners Randy Budge and Lane Erickson, and attorneys Nathan Palmer and Dave Bagley. Our team of Estate Planning attorneys in Idaho has received the highest ratings under several legal standards, including Martindale Hubbell, AVVO and Justia, for their ethics and legal ability. We have helped many parents with children who are minors complete a customized estate plan that will provide for their financial needs until they are an adult.

As the well-known statement goes, the only guarantees in life are death and taxes. We all know that we will die someday but we do not know when this will happen. While not common, sometimes even young parents die. When the parents of young children die, the tragedy is made worse when the parents have failed to complete an Estate Plan. Our attorneys in Idaho work with parents of minor children to complete their Estate Plan so that the parents will know that their children will be provided for financially. By doing this, our clients have peace of mind knowing that they are prepared for the worst.

Parents of minor children can use a Last Will and Testament as a way of creating a “Minor’s Trust”. A trust for minor children is a legal way for parents to have money and/or property held by another person and used for the benefit of their minor children while they are young. When a minor’s trust is created a trustee is named. This person is responsible to watch over and protect the money and property and to make sure that they are used for the benefit of the orphaned children.

A minor’s trust also allows the parents to control the age at which distributions of money and/or property will be made directly to their children when they are adults. For example, rather than giving a distribution outrightly to a person at the age of 18, when the law would consider them to be an adult, a parent has the ability to control when distributions are made through the minor’s trust. A parent can designate a specific age where some portion of the assets will be distributed. This age is usually at a time when the parent feels that a distribution would be helpful and won’t cause problems for the child.

Some parents choose the age of 25 for the first distribution. These parents will then stagger the ages for the remaining distributions at 35, and 40. There is no magic to the ages that are chosen for distributions. Rather, our Idaho Estate Planning Attorneys guide parents to make distributions when they feel that the money would be most useful and cause the least amount of problems for the children.

While the money or property is being held in the minor’s trust, prior to making any distributions, the trustee follows the directions that you leave in the minor’s trust and can only make distributions for the benefit of the child. In other words if a child were going to college and needed money for tuition or books, the trustee could make a tuition payment directly to the college without giving the money directly to the child. In this way the benefit of the money is still received by the child without giving the cash directly to the child who may not be mature enough to handle it. This continues until the child reaches the age designated in the minor’s trust where a distribution is made directly to them. Once that is done, the child can then use the money or property in any way they want.

Our Idaho Estate Planning Attorneys are parents themselves and know the importance of having a plan for minor children. The Racine Law team of Estate Planning Lawyers are here to help you when you need it the most. Whether you are seeking your own customized Estate Plan or would like to help a family member, we are available to discuss your options and answer your questions at an initial consultation. Call us toll free at 877.232.6101 or 208.232.6101 for a consultation with the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Idaho. You can also email us directly at racine@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Estate Planning questions and will help you solve your Idaho Estate Planning problems.