Navigating Estate Planning for Blended Families: Neil Carbone in MarketWatch on Trust Structures, Tax Benefits, and the Role of Corporate Trustees

Neil V. Carbone was recently quoted in The Moneyist on MarketWatch on the complexities of estate planning for blended families.

From the article:

Estate planning gets complicated for blended families, but this plan is not out of the ordinary, says Neil V. Carbone, trusts and estates partner at Farrell Fritz PC. “In general, a spouse will want to provide for the survivor for life, as was done here.  For a trust to qualify for the estate tax marital deduction, it must require that the survivor gets all of the income.”

“It is also common for the trust to allow distributions of principal to the survivor, either in the discretion of the trustee or pursuant to an ascertainable standard, such as health, education, maintenance and support, as was done here,” he adds. “On the death of the survivor, the remaining trust assets will go to the next generation.”

Most states, including New York, have adopted the Prudent Investor Act. “Under the Prudent Investor Act, a trustee is required to invest trust assets for total return under modern portfolio theory, which requires diversification of assets that will provide for both income and growth of principal,” Carbone adds.

Read the full article here: ‘I’m very cynical’: My stepmother, 85, makes bizarre requests for money from my father’s $10M trust. Should I be concerned? – MarketWatch