My father practiced stealth wealth, so finances were taboo. With his recent passing there has now been more discussion. However, I am the only one in the family that is familiar with my mother’s finances. I don’t discuss finances with my siblings.
Some years ago I was in a hazardous line of work, so I set up a Revocable Living Trust. Per the terms of the trust most of the assets would be distributed to my niece and nephew. As they were minors per the terms of the trust a children’s sub-trust would be established for each of them and my sisters would be the trustees. This is the current setup although now my niece would get the money directly. Naturally, when I was setting this up I had a discussion with my sisters on the arrangements.
Given the ages of my niece and nephew the funds would not be needed for their childrens’ educations (middle school and high school) for another ten to fifteen years. Ideally, when the time came I could establish trust funds at that time; however, what if I have an early death?
As mechanic baird stated trusts are very flexible and if written properly can accommodate most contingencies. So, if my nephew and niece choose not to have children then they could still get the money. The legal tools are available.
We have a family get-together set for Thanksgiving, so I’ll discuss the idea with my sisters. I’m leaning towards the idea of keeping it as is (all towards my nephew and niece), but as children are born I’ll setup trusts at that time. I'm not the parent, so it may be best for me to set the purpose of the trust for the general benefit of the child and not restrict it only for educational purposes.
Thanks for your comments.