Divorce Archives - GP Schoemakers, PLLC

What is an Inheritor’s Trust?

When it comes to estate planning there are several types of tools you can use, depending on your circumstances. One such estate planning tool is the trust. There are numerous types of trusts aimed at fulfilling different estate planning purposes. If you are anticipating an inheritance, there is a special type of trust designed to help protect it: an inheritor’s trust. Purpose of an Inheritor’s Trust An inheritor’s trust is a trust that has been established for the purpose of receiving a beneficiary’s inheritance in a way that is protected legally and financially. In order to fulfill its intended purpose, [...]

By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.|2021-01-27T11:26:58+00:00May 28th, 2019|Categories: Estate Planning, Trusts|Tags: Creditors, Divorce, Inheritance, Spendthrift, Taxes|0 Comments

Protecting Your Children’s Inheritance When You are Divorced

Consider this story. Beth’s divorce from her husband was recently finalized. Her most valuable assets are her retirement plan at work and her life insurance policy. She updated the beneficiary designations on both to be her two minor children. She did not want her ex-husband to receive the money. Beth passes away one year after her divorce. Her children are still minors, so the retirement plan and insurance company require an adult to be appointed to receive the inheritance Beth left behind. Who does the court presumptively look to serve as the caretaker of this money? Beth’s ex-husband who is [...]

By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.|2021-09-21T17:57:54+00:00August 23rd, 2018|Categories: Divorce, Estate Planning, Trusts|Tags: Divorce, Estate Plan, Inheritance, Minor Children, Mistakes, Trust|0 Comments

Which Life Events Require an Immediate Estate Plan Update?

Estate planning is the process of developing a strategy for the care and management of your estate if you become incapacitated or upon your death. One commonly known purpose of estate planning is to minimize taxes and costs, including taxes imposed on gifts, estates, generation skipping transfer and probate court costs. However, your plan must also name someone who will make medical and financial decisions for you if you cannot make decisions for yourself. You also need to consider how to leave your property and assets while considering your family’s circumstances and needs. Since your family’s needs and circumstances are constantly [...]

By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.|2021-09-21T19:22:34+00:00May 31st, 2018|Categories: Estate Planning|Tags: Assets, Death, Divorce, EP Update, Marriage, Moving|0 Comments

How to Protect Your Child’s Inheritance from His or Her Untrustworthy Spouse

Parents who develop an estate plan often do so to provide for their heirs financially. Many want to make sure hard-earned assets, family heirlooms, or closely held businesses stay within the family. Indeed, a common question is what cost effective options are available to protect one’s children’s inheritance from a spouse in the event of untrustworthiness or divorce. Thankfully, there are many ways to structure your child’s inheritance to help ensure it will remain in the family for future generations. Let’s look at a few of the options now. Create a Trust A trust involves three parties: (1) the person creating [...]

By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.|2021-09-21T19:24:46+00:00June 6th, 2017|Categories: Estate Planning|Tags: Divorce, Inheritance, Legacy, Prenuptial, Trust|0 Comments

How You Can Build an Estate Plan That Includes Asset Protection

Much of estate planning has to do with the way a person’s assets will be distributed upon their death. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. From smart incapacity planning to diligent probate avoidance, there is a lot that goes into crafting a comprehensive estate plan. One important factor to consider is asset protection. One of the most important things to understand about asset protection is that not much good can come from trying to protect your assets reactively when surprised by situations like bankruptcy or divorce. The best way to take full advantage of estate planning in regards to asset [...]

By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.|2021-09-21T19:28:48+00:00March 21st, 2017|Categories: Estate Planning|Tags: Asset Protection, Bankruptcy, Creditors, Divorce, LLC|0 Comments

Discretionary Trusts – How to Protect Your Beneficiaries from Bad Decisions and Outside Influences

Leaving your hard-earned assets outright to your children, grandchildren or other beneficiaries after you die will make their inheritance easy prey for creditors, predators, and divorcing spouses. Instead, consider using discretionary trusts for the benefit of each of your beneficiaries. What is a Discretionary Trust? A discretionary trust is a type of irrevocable trust that is set up to protect the assets funded into the trust for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiary. This can mean protection from the beneficiary’s poor money-management skills, extravagant spending habits, personal or professional judgment creditors, or divorcing spouse. Under the terms of a typical [...]

By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.|2021-09-21T19:48:01+00:00July 21st, 2014|Categories: Estate Planning|Tags: Beneficiaries, Creditors, Divorce, Trust|0 Comments