Parents in Los Angeles often go to great lengths to protect their children’s futures. They may set up a college fund or make plans for them to take over a family business one day. In general, parents want to make sure their children are always taken care of, even if they are no longer around to provide this care themselves.
This is the same motivation that can be used to encourage parents to set up a trust for their children. A trust can be just one part of an effective and cohesive estate plan and it can prove to be quite important if the parent of a young child passes away unexpectedly.
People can learn the importance of a thorough estate plan from late actor James Gandolfini who recently and tragically passed away after suffering a possible heart attack. His death was unexpected, but we learned that he had taken steps to protect his family prior to his passing when the details of his will were publicized.
Gandolfini has two young children with his wife. Reports indicate that the 51-year-old star left a significant amount of his wealth to his 14-year-old son and his 8-month-old daughter. However, he did not just hand over millions of dollars to the young children. Instead, the actor set up a trust in his son’s name which has the option of purchasing some of Gandolfini’s property and has ownership of his $7 million life insurance policy. Another trust was set up for an Italian property, which Gandolfini’s daughter will have access to when she turns 25.
Setting up a trust and finding a reliable party to administer that trust can be a good option for many people who have young children. It can be an effective solution for people who want to exercise an amount of control over their assets even after they have passed away.
Source: CNN, “James Gandolfini’s will generous with family, friends; most goes to teenage son,” Melissa Gray, July 4, 2013