Fairness and Gifting Across Multiple Generations

     Last Thursday we discussed a variety of ways to address clients' concerns regarding lifetime gifts made to their children. Issues such as these stem from the clients’ common concern for treating their beneficiaries equally. Another frequent sticking point when addressing fairness in distributions is a client’s desire to leave bequests to both their children and grandchildren. As clients begin to contemplate leaving gifts to multiple generations, the complexity of achieving fairness multiplies.

     One option when choosing to include grandchildren in trust distributions is to provide that each living grandchild receive a fixed sum prior to dividing the remaining trust assets among the client’s children. This ensures that the client treats each grandchild equally and that each child receives an equal share of the remaining estate. Alternatively, some clients elect to divide their entire trust estate equally between their children, but stipulate that from each child's share a specific dollar amount or percentage is set aside in trust for that child's offspring. While both of these methods ensure that each grandchild receives an equal gift, the second method reduces the gift to each of the client's children proportionate to that child's number of offspring.

     The second method for dividing the trust estate between the client's children and grandchildren requires the trustee to establish an equal share for each of the client's children as well as an additional equal share for the benefit of the client’s grandchildren. The share for the grandchildren is then subdivided, giving each individual grandchild in equal sub share. As with the first option discussed, this method ensures that every member of the same generation receives the same size gift but avoids making a fixed denomination gift to grandchildren that can potentially overwhelm the client's intention to provide for their children.

     A third method for making distributions that include grandchildren involves again dividing the trust assets equally between the clients’ children and then holding each child's share in trust. The terms of these trusts may vary, but a common choice is to provide that a portion of the income from each child's trust is distributed to that child automatically each year, while the remaining income and principal may be used for the grandchild's needs subject to an ascertainable standard. Following the death of the child, each of their offspring receives an equal share of any assets that remain in the trust. This technique, while requiring more substantial involvement from the trustee, allows the client to provide an annual gift to their child while also providing for their grandchildren's long-term needs.

     As you can see from these examples and as we have said before, distribution provisions are limited only by the client's imagination and our ability to draft to those desires. What is important to remember is that clients should not lose sight of their planning goals in order to ensure fairness among their beneficiaries. Engaging in the estate planning process and establishing a living trust serve to provide structure, guidance, and peace of mind to the client and their loved ones. When engaging in planning, clients should work with an experienced professional who takes the time to understand their family situation and assist them in creating documents that address the clients' wants and needs.