Our attorneys specializing in trusts may assist you in establishing an alter ego trust or a joint partner trust. To ensure the trust is tax-efficient and advantageous to you, a tax lawyer provides independent guidance.
About:
Inter vivos trusts like alter ego and joint partner trusts allow you to transfer assets throughout your lifetime. After it’s set up, you’ll have assets in the trust and assets in your name. At your death the assets would pass to those named in your will, or otherwise by joint ownership or beneficiary designation. These two trusts have similar premises, advantages, and disadvantages. A shared partner trust is for married or common-law couples, but an alter ego trust is for a single individual.
Qualification:
In order to be eligible for one of these trusts, you must:
At least 65 years of age.
Be eligible to receive full income from the trust.
Serve as the only person (or persons, in the case of couples) entitled to receive or use the income or capital of the trust.
Trusts Benefits:
The trust’s assets are exempt from BC’s 1.4% probate charge.
No administration of the assets held in trust (the probate process can often take well over a year)
Privacy (no other party will know what assets are in the trust, while probate records are public) (no third party will know what assets are in the trust, whereas probate filings are public)
Some utility in inheritance circumstances (discuss this with our trust lawyers, as care must be taken)
Trusts Disadvantages:
Complexity added to your life.
The trust may be required to submit yearly tax returns.
More costly than a will to establish (although the savings of probate fees more than justify this expense in the long-run)
Contact us here and Sodagar & Company Law’s wills and trust lawyers can answer all your questions to help you decide whether this trust is right for you. Typically, simple Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Representation Agreements complement these trusts.
