It’s not uncommon for grandparents to want to do something special for their grandchildren. You probably have heartfelt memories with your own grandparents, whether it’s enjoying one of their favorite meals alongside them or going to a park together. However, the grandparents who want to leave a lasting legacy and impact on their grandchildren can do so by establishing a trust. You’ve worked diligently your entire life to acquire assets and build a nest egg; your trust will ensure those assets and funds go to the right individuals. Creating a trust is incredibly beneficial for anyone involved in your estate plan. You can set specific parameters determining when certain assets or funds are relinquished to your heirs, giving you better control over ensuring your wishes come to fruition. Additionally, setting up a trust can help reduce estate tax liability, avoid probate, and provide other advantages depending on the type of trust. Determining which type of trust you use will be one of the most important decisions of the process, and our team is available to help you make the best decision for your specific circumstances. First, you’ll have to determine if you want to set up a revocable or irrevocable trust. A revocable trust will offer you more flexibility as you can change it throughout your lifetime, but it offers limited asset protection. Irrevocable trusts will provide the best asset protection and tax benefits possible, but modifying or updating your trust will prove much more difficult. Pass Down More Than Memories How Grandparents Can Use Trusts to Secure Their Grandchildren’s Future
Teens and Chores How to Turn Reluctance Into Responsibility
No one loved doing household chores growing up, but chores are great for building character and work ethic. If we shirk our responsibilities, we inevitably turn into vegetables — couch potatoes. No doubt, convincing your teenagers of the value of hard work and the importance of doing their chores can be trying at times. Sure, many grumble about “kids these days” and how parenting used to be, but we should remember that child-rearing has come a long way since the old days. For example, when Aztec children refused to do their chores, their parents would hold them over smoking chilies, resulting in eye-watering, skin-irritating torment — basically the Mesoamerican equivalent of pepper spraying kids in the face. The further we can get from that standard of parenting, the better. So, here are two tips to help convince your teens to chip in around the house — no peppers needed. FRAME IT DIFFERENTLY. Sometimes, all you need is a change in perspective. Rather than simply stating that things need to get done — “Because I said so!” — it can help to pitch chores as ways your teens can help around the house. Talk about everything that needs to be done to contribute to a healthy, happy home. There’s grocery shopping, feeding the dog, doing the laundry, maintaining the ever-growing collection of succulents, you name it. This will give them more perspective into how much their parents currently take on. Then, break down which responsibilities they’ll be assigned to complete and how often you expect them to do each task. GOOD WORK DESERVES A REWARD. Chore money has always been a great incentive to encourage teens to do their part around the home. These days, there are even apps, like BusyKid, that assign a monetary value to different chores around the house. This doesn’t mean you have to break the bank, but teaching your kids that hard work pays off can motivate them to accomplish more around the home.
From there, you can make more specific decisions that reflect your wishes. You can establish individual trusts for each grandchild or create a trust that involves the entire family. Regardless of your option, you’ll want to relay your directions to the successor trustee so they know exactly how much money to distribute and when they need to move certain assets. You may wish to relinquish things to your grandchildren once they reach a certain age, and leaving clear instructions will ensure that happens. Trusts can be incredibly confusing when you first explore them. Call us today if you need help creating, updating, or revoking a trust!
2 SiegelLawGroup.com
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