Sunday, August 14, 2011

Alternate Living Trust Beneficiaries



Alternate Living Trust Beneficiaries: Why Every Will and Trust Needs Them To Protect Property and Estate

Alternate beneficiaries - this is the person and/or organization you allot a gift to through the direct beneficiary, should the direct beneficiary pass away before you or does not live beyond for a certain period of time, usually between 30 to 45 days. This is what's known as survivorship requirement. For every direct beneficiary you have, you can name one or several alternate beneficiaries. It is common for a spouse to name one another, then their children as the alternate living trust beneficiaries. Of course, other alternate beneficiary plans are a bit more complicated.

Alternate Beneficiaries: Who Should You Name In Your Will/Living Trust

When you're preparing either your living trust or will, you might be thinking about whether or not you need an alternate beneficiary. In most traditional estate planning, the answer to your thought is yes. It's usually in your best interest to have them although they're not necessary for every situation.

If you have a reasonable assumption that your main beneficiary will die before you then it would be in your best interest to name a person as the alternate beneficiary. Now, you can always amend the trust or will to name a new main beneficiary to ensure that your property will go to someone else. However, having alternates in the trust or will saves you time and work. This also reduces the chance that you don't get the time or forget to amend the trust or will. With alternate living trust beneficiaries in place, you won't have to worry about this.

Why do some people prefer not to put in alternate beneficiaries? That's because they must consider the possibility that their primary beneficiary will pass away before them.

The majority of folks won't put all the eggs they have in one basket. The question becomes how far down the road should they place alternate beneficiaries? Should you make a plan that states what to do with the estate if both the primary and alternate living trust beneficiaries pass away before you do? What will happen to your estate if your kids and grandkids pass away before you do?

Some people will have several tiers of alternate living trust beneficiaries, which is completely fine to do. When you're doing estate planning, you should be at peace knowing that your possessions will be protected when you die. If you're at peace knowing that the planning you have done will protect your property even if there are multiple deaths, then it's in your best interest to do that. The thing to remember is that you are your best person to know what happens to your property in the event of your death. You decide what's best for you, not someone else!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5693580

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