What your Financial Planner needs to know about an FAPIT™ Trust
Most financial planners are unfamiliar with some of the modern twists available with irrevocable trusts. They tend to be familiar with the older style of irrevocable trust that can pose several problems for those who use them. These problems include:
- Loss of control over the management of the assets;
- A separate EIN number for tax reporting purposes;
- A larger tax bills because of the way traditional irrevocable trusts are taxed;
- A loss of the step up in basis available to assets owned by an individual upon the death of the settlor; and
- The inability to change provisions or beneficiaries in the future.
The Florida Asset Preservation Irrevocable Trust does not suffer from any of the traditional problems discussed above. With the FAPIT™ many of the advantages that are traditionally only found with a revocable trust can be provided in an irrevocable trust. Some may ask, why should we use an irrevocable trust instead of a revocable trust.
Here is a summary of the reasons that the FAPIT™ trust is superior to the revocable trust and does not pose the problems that a traditional irrevocable trust presents:
- This is a grantor trust that you create and are in control of. No beneficiary ever has a right to demand a distribution of income or principal during your life.
- The trust provides asset protection from future liability like car accidents, professional or personal negligence, and even can be structured to provide protection from Medicaid ineligibility.
- The trust is a disregarded entity for tax purposes and uses your social security number. This means you are taxed just like as if you owned the assets yourself.
- The trust does not remove assets from your estate so your beneficiaries receive a full step up in basis upon your death, just like with personally owned assets or those in a revocable trust.
- You can change the beneficiary at any time without risking loss of the assets to creditors.
- All assets that can be transferred to a revocable trust can be transferred to a FAPIT™ trust without penalties or termination.
As you can see there are some major advantages to using an FAPIT™ trust instead of or in conjunction with a revocable living trust. These should permit financial planners to have greater flexibility with investing their clients’ funds without the risk of loss to creditors or the severe investment limitations that are necessary to offer a reduced level of protection to their clients through annuities and life insurance options.
The FAPIT™ trust is a great tool for estate planning, asset protection, protecting from risks of loss from the surviving spouse and the risks of loss from the eventual beneficiaries. Given all the advantages to the FAPIT™ trust over a revocable trust, financial planners should embrace this powerful modern twist to traditional estate planning without fear of the restrictions on a traditional irrevocable trust.
Contact us today if you have any questions!