 A major reason you're setting up an estate plan is to make sure your loved ones receive the inheritance you want them to have. It seems simple enough, doesn't it? By way of example, you want to make sure that when you pass away, your daughter or sister or niece, Susie, gets 30% of your estate to do anything she wants with it. She could buy a home, start an investment account. She might just save it for a rainy day. If you want to give 30% of your estate, Susie should receive 30% of your estate, right? In an ideal world, that's exactly how it would happen. But it doesn't always work out like that. Don't forget that events like divorce, death, unexpected events happen that can cause the inheritance that you want to go to Susie, to go to someone else, people that you don't even know, or worse, that you don't even want to receive any inheritance. Situations like this happen so often that my office has developed an inheritance protection trust. By using an inheritance protection trust, you can guard against unforeseen events like divorce, death, or situations you have very little control over. Your living trust spells out how you, or you and your spouse if you're married, are taken care of during your lifetime. And your trust also spells out to who, when, and how your assets are to be given to your loved ones after you've passed away. Well, the inheritance protection trust becomes a part of the language of your own living trust that spells out the who, when, and how your loved ones receive their inheritance from you. Let's see how this can help your loved one, Susie. You've decided that you would like to give Susie 30% of your estate when you pass away. But to help make sure that Susie gets that 30% and that it stays safe, you don't actually give anything to Susie. Instead, we add language into your living trust that sets up Susie's inheritance protection trust upon your death. The home she wants to buy, or the investment account, or the bank account she wants to own, all will be held and controlled by Susie's inheritance protection trust. And who controls that inheritance protection trust? Susie does. She's the trustee of her trust. She's in control. If she follows proper precautions, you don't have to worry about Susie's inheritance going to an ex or someone else's kids. It's all spelled out in her inheritance protection trust. Even in the worst case scenario, her assets will be passed on to her children or other folks that you want it passed on to. An inheritance protection trust may or may not work as part of your estate plan. But isn't it important to learn about these exciting techniques? The more you learn, the better your estate plan will be in protecting your loved ones. I'm estate planning attorney, Hollis Loge.