Intergenerational wealth – how do I secure my hard earned money for my bloodline beyond my demise?
OVERVIEW
In this case study we highlight how careful attention to estate planning can protect family wealth in a deceased estate from favouring non bloodline (relatives by marriage or defacto) and from being challenged by the non bloodline beneficiaries of the will. This is often put in place as partnered beneficiaries may separate in the future and wealth would then possibly leave the bloodline family.
Protection from such an event may be achieved through the creation of a testamentary trust.
The trust can also be structured to protect bloodline relatives from the bereaved partner’s future relationship decisions through the considered allocation of shares to both the bereaved partner and the children of the deceased.
MEET Jack Matthews
Name(s): Jack Matthews
Financial Goal: To ensure his wife was well provided for after his demise and that his daughters would have full control over their inheritances upon their mother’s demise in a way that would see the inheritance retained within the bloodline family and protected from any future relationship changes by the children of the bloodline marriage.
Salary: $700K
Assets: $5M+
THE PROBLEM
At the age of 81 Jack was facing his demise from a sudden terminal illness and sought to ensure his estate planning was current with his decisions and were effectively structured to protect the family wealth and accurately reflect his intentions upon his passing.
THE SOLUTION
Locumsgroup worked with Jack’s estate planning lawyers to set up a testamentary trust structure to contain the majority of the inheritance where each of his three daughters and his wife received shares in a ratio that prevented a single person from making a controlling decision about the assets contained within the estate. Jack’s wife also received a bequest separate to the testamentary trust to ensure she had independent wealth to live well and make her own decisions with that allocation of assets.
THE OUTCOME
Jack’s wife is well catered for financially and the inheritance is intact, and invested to make money while the inheritance was drawn against to fund and support the six grandchildrens’ private school education.
One of his daughters recently ended a long term defacto relationship however the trust is protected from being considered an asset to be shared in this relationship due to the way it was structured.