Tampa Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust Attorney
Tampa QTIPS Attorneys
One of the many benefits of most trusts is the financial assistance provided for your family. Many Florida residents create trusts intending to provide for their families after their own death. Particularly, many people are concerned about ensuring their spouse is taken care of. A Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust (QTIP) is a type of trust that focuses on granting assets to your spouse. A QTIP can be especially helpful if you have children from another marriage. This kind of trust can set aside assets for your current spouse. With a QTIP, you and your spouse can rest easy knowing that their financial future is secure.
How a QTIP Works
When you create a QTIP, you put assets into trust for your spouse’s benefit, similar to many types of trust. A unique feature of a QTIP is that your spouse is essentially an intermediate beneficiary, with a future beneficiary who will receive the remaining trust assets after your spouse’s death.
For example, you may have children from a first marriage, and want to provide for them after you pass away. You also want to ensure that your current spouse is taken care of. With a QTIP, your spouse will receive a portion of the trust assets, but cannot actually control the assets. He or she will not be able to sell or donate the trust assets. When your spouse dies, the remaining trust assets will pass to the final beneficiary, such as your children.
Using this trust structure can help resolve family discord related to your estate by clarifying your wishes. Your spouse will receive income from the QTIP trust, and your children (or other final beneficiaries) will also receive a financial benefit. Your QTIP will also designate a trustee who is responsible for managing the trust. He or she will pay income from the trust to your spouse. Unlike your spouse, the trustee can also control trust assets. This means he or she could invest these assets, hopefully earning more for the trust. Such an asset increase would ultimately help your final beneficiary. It is important to choose a financially responsible trustee who could make wise choices using trust assets. To decrease family tension, it may be a good idea to name a disinterested third party to manage your QTIP.
Estate Tax Benefits
An estate tax is a federal tax levied against your estate at the time of your death. Based on the value of your estate, this tax can be quite high. This means that your loved ones will receive less of your estate. With a QTIP trust, you can delay paying an estate tax until your spouse’s death (if he or she survives you). When your spouse dies, their entire estate, including the QTIP trust assets, will be subject to the estate tax. Delaying the estate tax until that time can greatly benefit to your spouse.
Learn More, Contact Tampa Trust Attorney
For Tampa residents, there are many estate planning options that can benefit loved ones. Without the help of an experienced lawyer, these options can be overwhelming. David Toback, Attorney at Law, can explain your choices, and help you create the best trust for your situation. Call him at (813) 252-7529 to schedule a consultation.
