Child support trust...

[doc2b]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

My husband's company is requesting a new "Beneficiary Designation Form" for 2008 since we got married last year. I have filled out the "Spouses Consent" section since his kids are going to be assigned beneficiaries to a large part of his policy and benefits, but once I got to the section where you list off how you split the estate, it got confusing. The form asks for "Beneficiary/Trust/Estate/Charity/Name", and then the personal info for each person along with the percentage that goes to each.

Is it better to list the kids as a direct beneficiary of their portions or set up a trust for each of them? They are seven, so if something were to happen to him he wants to make sure the benefit payments would go to them each month, but try to keep the rest in a savings account or something that earns interest so that there is still some left for them to use for college, etc. by the time they graduate. I'm assuming we'll have to get some kind of estate planner or something, but thought I'd see if anyone had any tips...Thanks.

 

[BlondiePB]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

My husband's company is requesting a new "Beneficiary Designation Form" for 2008 since we got married last year. I have filled out the "Spouses Consent" section since his kids are going to be assigned beneficiaries to a large part of his policy and benefits, but once I got to the section where you list off how you split the estate, it got confusing. The form asks for "Beneficiary/Trust/Estate/Charity/Name", and then the personal info for each person along with the percentage that goes to each.

Is it better to list the kids as a direct beneficiary of their portions or set up a trust for each of them? They are seven, so if something were to happen to him he wants to make sure the benefit payments would go to them each month, but try to keep the rest in a savings account or something that earns interest so that there is still some left for them to use for college, etc. by the time they graduate. I'm assuming we'll have to get some kind of estate planner or something, but thought I'd see if anyone had any tips...Thanks.

Please do see an estate planner. Regardless, monies for minor children must be placed in restricted funds via a Trust or Guardian of Estate for each minor child.

 

[doc2b]

Thank you, that's kind of what I figured after getting down to the details...I was hoping it might be a do-it-yourself type thing, but better off doing it right than making a mistake.