July 12, 2016
Michigan Asset Protection Planning with the Castle Trust
Michigan Asset Protection Trust | Castle Trust
Asset protection planning is one of the most important aspects of any estate planning or retirement planning these days, especially for Michigan seniors in this economy. A new tool in the estate planning tool box is the Irrevocable Pure Grantor Trust- otherwise known as the, the Castle Trust.
Michigan Asset Protection Trust
The Castle Trust is a self-settled asset protection trust that makes sense for regular folks and offers asset protection against going broke in a nursing home while offering control of the assets and access to lifetime income of the assets in the trust. Think of it like a piggy bank, a piggy bank that you hold on to.
Castle Trusts are not just Michigan based, but work in any state across the US and are based in common law. This means that they are more stable in courts and give you the client, more peace of mind that they will hold up in court, which they have.
The Castle Trust is a great planning tool for main street Michigan retirees and seniors who are not concerned about estate taxes, because they don’t have over $10million in assets, but are concerned about asset protection, avoiding probate, and protecting against long-term care.
The most common version of the Castle Trust in Michigan is the Castle Trust where the grantor (you) retains rights to any income the trust accumulates and has full control how the assets are invested inside of the Castle Trust. Typically the assets are invested with an APA (Asset Preservation Annuity).
The advantage of this form of Castle Trust is that the individual who has set up the Castle Trust has protected it against lawsuits, divorces, bankruptcy, trustee problems, children problems, taxes and stock market losses.
Protect Against Nursing Home Costs and Law Suits with an Asset Protection Trust
The trade-off for these benefits? The grantor (you) cannot have direct access to the principle. Notice it’s direct access, not all access. Think of this form of Castle Trust like a piggy bank. The piggy bank can be accessed any time through the bottom of the piggy bank. Likewise with the Castle Trust.
Asset protection planning in Michigan can be a complicated area of law, it’s important to work with a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) to help with your asset protection and Castle Trust planning.