Lancaster Trust Planning Lawyers

Using Trusts To Achieve Clients’ Estate Planning Goals

A trust is a legal relationship between a grantor, a trustee and a beneficiary in which the grantor transfers certain assets to the trustee to be used for the benefit of the beneficiary. This relationship is governed by a trust agreement. Trusts can be used for a variety of purposes, and they have come to form an integral part of many people’s estate plans.

The most common use of trusts in estate planning is as a tool for avoiding probate of one’s estate. If this is a person’s only goal, a revocable living trust can generally be used for this purpose, although it may not be necessary. However, at Spencer Law Firm LLC, our attorneys go beyond probate avoidance, providing clients with sophisticated trust planning services in areas such as the following:

  • Estate tax exemption planning: Married couples often use trusts to preserve the estate tax exemptions of both spouses. Historically, credit shelter (A/B) trusts were used for this purpose. Currently, we recommend disclaimer planning strategies to most of our clients.
  • Gift planning: We advise clients on the use of trust planning strategies such as qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs) and grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) to transfer wealth to future generations while minimizing the use of their gift tax exemptions.
  • Charitable giving: Our attorneys help clients maximize the impact of their charitable giving while still providing for family members through the use of charitable remainder trusts and other planned giving strategies.
  • Life insurance planning: We assist clients with the creation of irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs) to avoid the possibility of estate tax liability for life insurance benefits.
  • Special needs planning: Our firm helps the parents of children with special needs provide for their children while maximizing the benefits they receive from other sources.

Based in Lancaster, our team of lawyers provides trust planning services to clients throughout Pennsylvania. To schedule a meeting, please contact us at 717-394-1131 or by email.