Advanced Planning - Waters Tyler Hofmann & Scott, LLC

For people with more complicated situations there are many advanced planning tools and techniques that can be put into place to achieve the desired outcomes. Advanced techniques typically work to reduce income tax issues, estate tax issues, and/or add components of asset protection to the foundational estate planning techniques. Determining the right tools, and the appropriate amount of complexity, is critical when deciding whether advanced planning is needed in your situation. The attorneys at Waters, Tyler, Hofmann & Scott will walk you through the different options and help you achieve the goals you want.

Medicaid Planning
Medicaid is the government program that pays for health and long-term care for those without the money to do so on their own. With the ever rising cost of nursing home care, Medicaid planning is becoming a critical aspect of many people’s estate plans. Proper Medicaid planning is a proactive, complex strategy to protect assets for you and your family.

Irrevocable Trusts
Similar to a revocable living trust, the irrevocable trust holds assets for the benefit of a beneficiary. However, unlike the revocable trust, an irrevocable trust cannot be changed – the language of the trust is locked in place. Irrevocable trusts are typically used as gifting vehicles – such as a grandparent giving money to their minor grandchild. To legally complete the gift of your asset to the irrevocable trust, you can no longer be in control of that asset and the beneficiary is entitled to a Crummey notice.

Life Insurance Trusts
Life insurance trusts are a form of irrevocable trust that are designed to hold life insurance. These trusts are often referred to as ILITs. These are used in two primary situations: 1) when you want to have the death benefit pass outside the reach of an estate tax, or 2) when your estate is illiquid (such as when your main asset is real estate or farmland), and there is a need to provide liquidity to the overall estate.

Charitable Trusts
Charitable trusts are designed to provide benefits to both your family and your favorite charity. When a charitable trust is set-up properly you gain an income tax benefit. There are two basic types of charitable trusts, the Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT, also can be known as a CRUT or CRAT) and the Charitable Lead Trust (CLT). The CRT provides you or your loved one a steady stream of money, and then when that person dies, your favorite charity gets the remainder of the money. The CLT is just the opposite; the charity receives a steady stream of money, and then when you die, your family receives the remainder. If you are charitably inclined, and have highly appreciated assets, then a charitable trust may be the right technique for you.

Our mission at Waters, Tyler, Hofmann & Scott, LLC, is to provide quality legal services for our clients in Indiana and Kentucky.

Our objective is to employ state-of-the-art technology in conjunction with a highly-informed staff of lawyers, paralegals and legal secretaries to provide clients maximum economy and efficiency while insisting on the highest standards of confidentiality and professionalism.

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