I’ll get right to the point. There are two reasons to have a trust: 1) You; 2) your Stuff.
Question: What is more important to you, You or your Stuff?
I think you can see why I find it very curious that all articles on trusts for retirees deal with their stuff. What about You?
Sure, dealing with your Stuff is important, I don’t deny that. You want to be sure that when you die only those people or causes you care about get your gifts. I can repeat those many reasons in another post if you wish – drop me an email to Jim @ JimSchuster.com – but I think a quick search will come up with many.
Let’s get to the Main point: What about You?
My experience in Elder Law taught me that very, very few seniors have a great, action filled life then drop dead on the tennis court, golf course, or exotic vacation etc. For most it is years of slow decline with increasing need for help from others. And that is the reason a childless senior/couple need a trust.
If you have no children who will take care of you when you cannot manage your daily affairs? If you have no trust to provide instructions, then you might have the experience of the childless John, of whom I wrote in a prior blog. When he needed daily help he was removed from his home by the Probate Court appointed guardian/conservator. He was put in a locked assisted living facility. He had no say about where he could live or how his savings of over a million dollars was spent. He had no say.
If John had a trust, his trustee would have arranged for him to live in his own home with whatever help he needed according to the terms in his trust.
So if you are a childless senior/couple and you have significant savings talk to a certified elder law attorney about how “your trust” can take care of You. Mind you there are some attorneys who claim to be proficient in elder law and are not. If you need a referral to a good elder law attorney drop me a line to Jim @ JimSchuster.com. I’ll get you to the right place.