Trusts

Pet trusts offer animal owners a way to preserve assets for their pets’ benefit once the owners themselves pass away. In addition to designating a care provider, these estate planning tools help cover the costs for pet healthcare, food, living expenses, and basic enjoyment of life. A new trend is developing that pet owners should consider when deciding how much money to leave for their non-human family members: Pet hospice....

Pet trusts offer legal instructions for the continuing care of pets—including dogs, cats, horses, and exotics—after the pet owner passes away. Animal owners may try to make their own arrangements for pet care, but without learning about how pet trusts are created and administered under North Carolina law, their wishes may not be carried out. Do-it-yourself pet trusts may not fully ensure an individual’s instructions for pet care are legally enforced. ...

A year ago the nation waited for the government’s announcement about the estate tax exemption for 2013. A large number of American taxpayers established and funded irrevocable trusts just in case the federal estate tax exemption dropped to $1 million. ...

North Carolina recently expanded its law regarding trust "power holders," persons named in a trust, other than trustee, who are given certain powers over the trust and/or trustee. ...

Las Vegas asset protection guru Steve Oshins has updated his Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT) State Ranking Chart. ...

Wealthy folks looking to transfer assets to younger generations in tax-advantaged ways should act now, as the Obama administration is seeking to limit several favorite techniques of estate planning attorneys. ...