In past articles, we have covered trusts as a viable option when it comes time to delve into estate planning. There is a certain degree of control and flexibility that would otherwise be unavailable with other options.
While many of you are probably familiarized with the concepts of revocable and irrevocable trusts, there is also another option that should be noted. This particular option is the decision between a fixed trust or a discretionary trust.
“You gain an entirely new level of control in your estate planning when you choose to make your trust fixed or discretionary,” says Richard Meyer Cayne of Meyer International Ltd in Bangkok, Thailand. “If you should find yourself incapacitated or worse, your estate will be handled by your trustee, and how it is handled can make all the difference.”
A fixed trust is essentially exactly what it sounds like. As the settlor of the estate, you provide precise instructions for exactly who gets what and when. The trustee’s duty is to make sure all the instructions in your trust are carried out according to your wishes. This is oftentimes applied when a beneficiary receives a certain percentage of a trust or when property is involved.
In certain circumstances, there are conditional factors that need to be met, but overall the distribution remains fixed. The beneficiaries are then liable for the assets they own once the distribution has been executed.
Discretionary trusts, on the other hand, provide more wiggle room for the trustee, in regards to distribution, and also more leeway to who benefits. As far as how the estate is divided, the settlor can make recommendations regarding how they wish these divisions to occur, however the trustee has the ultimate say in who receives what and for what period of time.
Due to the fact that the trustee decides the distribution of the estate, no beneficiary can rightfully claim supreme ownership over any facet of the trust. This can certainly be advantageous when it comes to liability, bankruptcy, and tax issues.
The good news is that you don’t have to make a definitive decision between the two. Keep in mind, you can always maintain more than one trust in regards to your estate plan. When the time comes, you can divvy up your assets and they will be distributed in accordance with your wishes.
Of course, you don’t want things to get overly complex. It’s always important that you talk through the various options available to you with a trusted financial expert like Richard Meyer Cayne of Meyer International Ltd to establish the plan that’s right for you.
As Richard Cayne will tell you: Estate planning is no easy matter, particularly if you want certain beneficiaries to benefit in particular ways. That’s precisely why there are legal and financial experts available to help you make the decisions that are right for you”.
Richard Meyer Cayne of Asia Wealth Group Holdings, the Meyer Group, Meyer Asset Management and Meyer International Ltd has been involved in wealth management planning for decades. Originally born in Montreal Quebec, Canada, he later relocated to Tokyo, Japan for over 15 years and now resides in Bangkok, Thailand. While he runs the Meyer Group and serves as the high credibility CEO of Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd, a London, UK Stock Exchange-listed Financial Holdings Company, as well as the Managing Director of the Meyer Group of Companies www.meyerjapan.com. and has additionally been the managing director of multiple organizations that specialize in helping high net worth individuals with succession planning .
Having worked with clients all over the globe with everything from portfolios to bonds to mutual funds to offshore investing to investing in retirement for your golden years, Richard Cayne of Meyer International can help you invest the right way and protect your cash. Richard has been a financial advisor involved in wealth management planning solutions and asset management in Asia for over 25 years and while living in Tokyo, Japan, he assisted many high net-worth Japanese families create innovative international tax and wealth management planning solutions. The financial holding public company of which he is CEO can be seen at Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd or the stock exchange link:
https://www.aquis.eu/aquis- stock exchange/member?securityidaqse=AWLP Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd – Richard Cayne Thailand. Meyer Asset Management Ltd has been in the wealth management space since March 2000 and uses fundamental analysis along with modern portfolio theory.
His image worldwide as a professional advisor has been sterling and he maintains a firm command and understanding of all things finance-related.
