Plain-language answers to the most common estate planning questions, written by Haute Lawyer Network's editorial team.
A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) is an irrevocable trust to which the grantor transfers their primary residence or vacation ho…
Read Answer →Supplemental needs trust (SNT) and special needs trust are terms used interchangeably to describe trusts that hold assets for a person wi…
Read Answer →A disclaimer is a beneficiary's legally binding refusal to accept an inheritance, bequest, or other property interest. When a qualified d…
Read Answer →A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) is a limited partnership structure used to transfer wealth within a family at reduced gift and estate…
Read Answer →A grantor trust is a trust in which the grantor — the person who created and funded the trust — retains enough control or beneficial inte…
Read Answer →A Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trust is an estate planning tool used primarily in blended families. It provides income t…
Read Answer →Portability is a federal estate tax provision that allows a surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exemption — t…
Read Answer →A spendthrift trust is a trust that restricts the beneficiary's ability to transfer their interest in the trust and protects the trust as…
Read Answer →A beneficiary designation is an instruction on a financial account — retirement account, life insurance policy, bank account, or investme…
Read Answer →The executor — called a personal representative in some states — is the person you name in your will to manage your estate after death. T…
Read Answer →A testamentary trust is a trust created within a will that comes into existence only at the testator's death. Unlike a revocable living t…
Read Answer →A pour-over will is a type of will used in conjunction with a living trust. It directs that any assets in your name at death that were no…
Read Answer →An irrevocable trust is a trust that — once created and funded — generally cannot be changed or revoked by the grantor. By permanently tr…
Read Answer →A will and a trust both transfer your assets to your chosen beneficiaries — but they work in fundamentally different ways, take effect at…
Read Answer →Medicaid planning uses legal strategies to help individuals qualify for Medicaid long-term care benefits while preserving assets for thei…
Read Answer →A generation-skipping trust (GST) is an irrevocable trust that passes assets to grandchildren or more remote descendants — skipping a gen…
Read Answer →A revocable living trust does not reduce estate taxes — because you retain control of the assets, they remain in your taxable estate. But…
Read Answer →An estate plan is not a one-time task — it is a living set of documents that should evolve with your life. The general rule is to review…
Read Answer →Ancillary probate is a secondary probate proceeding required in any state where you own real estate at the time of your death, separate f…
Read Answer →Estate planning for business owners is significantly more complex than planning for individuals with only investment and real estate asse…
Read Answer →Estate planning for high-net-worth families involves significantly more complexity than standard planning — encompassing multi-generation…
Read Answer →The gift tax is a federal tax on transfers of money or property to another person during your lifetime without receiving fair value in re…
Read Answer →When the person who created a revocable living trust — the grantor — dies, the trust automatically becomes irrevocable. The successor tru…
Read Answer →Funding a trust means transferring ownership of your assets into it. A trust that exists on paper but holds no assets accomplishes nothin…
Read Answer →Estate planning costs vary significantly depending on the complexity of your situation and the specific documents you need. A basic will…
Read Answer →Asset protection planning is the use of legal structures — trusts, business entities, exemptions, and other tools — to protect your asset…
Read Answer →Probate — the court-supervised process of distributing a deceased person's estate — is public, slow, and expensive. For many people, avoi…
Read Answer →A power of attorney and a healthcare directive are two separate legal documents that address different types of decisions when you are un…
Read Answer →If you die without a will, you die intestate. When that happens, the state — not you — decides who inherits your assets. Every state has…
Read Answer →A revocable trust — also called a living trust or revocable living trust — is a legal document that holds your assets during your lifetim…
Read Answer →Probate is the legal process through which a deceased person's estate is administered and distributed under court supervision. When someo…
Read Answer →A special needs trust — also called a supplemental needs trust — is a legal arrangement that holds assets for the benefit of a person wit…
Read Answer →A living will — also called an advance directive or directive to physicians — is a legal document that specifies your wishes regarding me…
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