For your trust to be the beneficiary of your retirement plans your trust must be a “Qualified

Trust”. Some of the requirements for the trust to be qualified include the trust being valid under state law, the trust being irrevocable at death and the beneficiaries of the trust being identifiable. There are many benefits to having a qualified trust and being able to name your trust as the beneficiary of your retirement plans. Some of the benefits include being able to stretch out the retirement plan over your children’s life expectancy while sheltering it from their creditors, ex-spouses, or long term care spend down. You should meet with a qualified estate planning attorney to make sure your trust is qualified before you make this beneficiary designation on retirement plans.

Contributed by MH Scottsdale, Arrowhead and Phoenix Estate Planning Attorney and Partner, David T. Eastman.

Why Choose Morris Hall:
You have a number of options when it comes to estate planning, so why pick Morris Hall?  First off, estate planning and asset protection are a very complicated endeavor and you should only trust someone who focuses exclusively on those matters.  Also, MH is a proud member of The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (AAEPA) which provides us additional support, advanced training, tools and information that is not available to others – which means that we can better protect your assets and your loved ones.  We are one of only two firms in Arizona that belong to the AAEPA and are the only firm in New Mexico that has been granted membership.  If you have assets and loved ones that you want to protect, you are in good hands with MH.  Contact us today at 888.222.1328 to schedule an appointment!

This blog should be used for informational purposes only.  It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice.  If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.