trust

Let's say John Doe owns a horse farm worth $11 million. He wants to pass the farm down to his son, James, when he dies. He does not have much in the way of cash -- all of his assets are in the farm.

John puts the farm in a bypass trust. Then he dies and James inherits the farm. James works the farm for 40 years, and then he dies and leaves the farm to his son, Jake.

Because the farm is in a bypass trust, James has to pay estate taxes on the farm when he inherits it from John, but Jake does not have to pay estate taxes on the farm when he inherits it from James. This is a good thing, because James has already paid estate taxes on the farm. Making Jake pay estate taxes again on the farm would amount to double taxation.

A bypass trust is irrevocable, meaning that once John puts the farm into a trust for James, he can't undo it. They also come with certain limits. For example, James must have restricted rights to liquidate the farm's assets, and John must specify in the trust what James can do financially in that regard. John can also control who James may leave the farm to.

Let's say John Doe is in a shaky marriage and wants to make sure $1 million of his money goes to his children rather than his second wife, whom he may divorce. He puts the money in a dry trust for his children.

The children are only 10 and 8 years old, but when they turn 18, they will have access to and control over the assets. In the meantime, John's wife cannot touch the assets, and a trustee manages the money on behalf of the children rather than on behalf of John Doe.

A land trust holds one or more properties for the benefit of a designated group or organization (beneficiary). The trust is managed by a trustee or board of trustees responsible for overseeing the property or properties on behalf of the beneficiary. Land trust beneficiaries can be for-profit or not-for-profit organizations trying to privately accumulate property holdings for purposes such as expansion or conservation. For example, a community with endangered wildlife may have a land trust for pieces of land that qualify as wildlife sanctuaries.

Let's say John Doe is in a shaky marriage and wants to make sure $1 million of his money goes to his children rather than his second wife, whom he may divorce. He puts the money in a naked trust for his children.

The children are only 10 and 8 years old, but when they turn 18, they will have control over the assets. In the meantime, John's wife cannot touch the assets, and a trustee manages the money on behalf of the children rather than on behalf of John Doe.

For example, let's say John Doe is in a shaky marriage and wants to make sure $1 million of his money goes to his children rather than his second wife, whom he many divorce. He puts the money in a passive trust for his children.

The children are only 10 and 8 years old, but when they turn 18, they will have access to and control over the assets. In the meantime, John's wife cannot touch the assets, and a trustee manages the money on behalf of the children rather than on behalf of John Doe.

A trust is a legal instrument that allows property to be passed to heirs and beneficiaries without going through probate (i.e., state directed distributions of assets upon death). A revocable trust gives the full control of the assets held in the trust to the grantor (i.e., the person setting up the trust). In addition, all incomes and distributions from the assets in the revocable trust are given to the grantor during their lifetime.