Protecting bequeathed assets from domestic relations siezure

[Bind]

My State is Pennsylvania.

Currently, my will bequeaths all my assets to my daughter. This includes my retirement packages, investments, funds, real estate, financial accounts, and all personal property. Everything goes to her as she is our only child.

We adopted her at age 14. She has a very bad family history I wont go into in too much detail other than to say she needed us and someone to love her very badly. Now, she is a recovering drug addict, recovering alcoholic, she has been diagnosed with multiple mental disorders, and suffers from depression. Her life is a mess, but she is really tying to overcome the demons of her enviromental upbringing that was the cause of many of her problems. She makes a step or two forwards, then every once in a while backpeddles considerably.

I know some promote tough love, but she is my daughter and I love her. I need to make sure her future ability to at least survive lifes financial requirements are met before I die.

Having said that, she is the mother of my grandchild. Due to her relationship breakup and mental condition, the court has seen fit to grant the father with primary custodial rights, with an order of monitary support. She does not keep jobs to long and sometimes falls behind on support. My fear is if I die, the structure I try to give her will be missing and what happens if she cant find a job or gets behind in support. The Pennsylvania Domestic Relations might try to sieze her assets, property, and bank accounts I bequeathed to her.

I need to find a way to protect the assets I have bequeathed to her before I die.

I am not worried about them siezing her assets, just the assets I want to bequeath to her. Specifically real estate (a home for her to live in), bank accounts (money to pay her bills), and miscellanious house fuirnishings and vehicles to get to work in.

I am going to talk with an attorney, but i want to research this topic online for a few months to get a grasp of my options available.

Could a Trust do this type of asset protection of bequeathed wealth ?

thanks in advance from a worried father.

[Proserpina]

Is there a reason why you wouldn't want your daughter to have access to any and all available funds in order to support your grandchild?

[Bind]

Is there a reason why you wouldn't want your daughter to have access to any and all available funds in order to support your grandchild?

I want her to have access to the assets, but I want it to be her choice to use them how she sees fit. Not siezed by a court order if she gets behind in support between jobs and a support modification approval where support obligation accrues when she isnt making any money, which I have seen first hand and had to pay FOR her. Because of her condition, sometimes its a while between jobs and I generally help her get them.

I am not looking to get into a moral debate here. I am looking to protect the interests of my daughter and to protect my wealth bequeathed to her.

My grandchild's future is well taken care of financially. That is of no issue.

[Proserpina]

I want her to have access to the assets, but I want it to be her choice to use them how she sees fit. Not siezed by a court order if she gets behind in support between jobs and a support modification approval where support obligation accrues when she isnt making any money, which I have seen first hand and had to pay FOR her. Because of her condition, sometimes its a while between jobs and I generally help her get them.

I am not looking to get into a moral debate here. I am looking to protect the interests of my daughter and the protection of my wealth bequeathed to her.

My grandchild's future is well taken care of financially. That is of no issue.

So what's the issue?

You want your daughter to be able to choose to forgo supporting her child?

[Bind]

I think you misunderstood me when I stated that I was not getting into a moral debate.

Child support obligations are based on employment earnings, NOT assets.

The issue, again, is that I am looking for are options to protect wealth and assets from any possible siezure.

[Proserpina]

I think you misunderstood me when I stated that I was not getting into a moral debate.

On the contrary. I understood perfectly.

Child support obligations are based on employment earnings, NOT assets.

The issue, again, is that I am looking for are options to protect wealth and assets from any possible siezure.

Please contact an estate attorney.

[Bind]

Again, as previously stated, I do plan of speaking with an attorney after doing some research to get a grasp of possible options.

[mistoffolees]

Again, as previously stated, I do plan of speaking with an attorney after doing some research to get a grasp of possible options.

Make sure it's an attorney who specializes in estates and trusts.

What you want to do will be fairly simple - you need to set up a trust for your assets with stipulations on how it can be spent. You can have an attorney or a friend or a banker or any other responsible person be the trustee. Your daughter would have to contact the trustee to get money if you choose to set it up that way.

The trust documents could specify almost any limitation on how the money can be spent. You could, for example, allow her to take out $1,000 per month with no justification but allow additional amounts only if needed for medical care or education. OR any other requirements you want to place.

You could then provide for how the remainder of the money is spent when the grandchild reaches adulthood. It could be distributed to the child at a certain age, or distributed partially at several different ages, or the remainder could go to charity. Almost anything you wish to do with it would be OK, as long as it's legal.

There is some additional cost - first the cost of setting up the trust and then the cost of paying the trustee (if it's a professional like a banker or lawyer). But the advantage is that the assets are fully protected and will be distributed the way you want.

[nextwife]

See a trust attorney.

They may be able to structure a trust that eventually leaves the real estate to your granchild, and provides Mom a life estate interest only, and a place to live and bring your grandchild on her times of possession. The trust can have some funds allocated for property tax payment and property preservation, so as to keep the property in the hands of the trust until your grandchild eventually inherits it. Disbursements from the trust to daughter (how much and whether to ever touch principal, rather than disburse earnings-only to your daughter is a fiscal management decision to address during estate planning) can indeed count as income to her and be partially offset to pay CS. The trust could potentially preserve the principal for eventual inheritance by granddaughter, while payments from it could help daughter in paying CS and having a roof over her head to bring her child home to.

Do NOT have daughter as trustee. Use a fiduciary, perhaps a bank, or reliable third party relative, to manage the trust.

[LdiJ]

I want her to have access to the assets, but I want it to be her choice to use them how she sees fit. Not siezed by a court order if she gets behind in support between jobs and a support modification approval where support obligation accrues when she isnt making any money, which I have seen first hand and had to pay FOR her. Because of her condition, sometimes its a while between jobs and I generally help her get them.

I am not looking to get into a moral debate here. I am looking to protect the interests of my daughter and to protect my wealth bequeathed to her.

My grandchild's future is well taken care of financially. That is of no issue.

I think that the bolded is a very bad idea dad. It would not be in the best interest of someone with an addictive personality to have access to any significant amount of money all at one time. You might be doing your daughter more harm than good. You want whatever money or assets you leave her to last throughout her lifetime.

I suggest that you put everything into a trust. The beneficiary of your assets that allow for beneficiaries can be the trust, and anything that doesn't allow for a beneficiary can be transferred to the trust before you pass away.

You would want a Trustee in charge who would control the money and provide it to your daughter on a certain schedule. I don't know how much you are going to have to leave her, but if its significant, then only the income from the trust should be distributed to her, preserving the principal. If its not significant enough for that, then it can be distributed on some other basis.

[Bind]

Thanks for the helpful responses.