The sad reality of life today is that many of us know of a family affected by drug or alcohol abuse – perhaps you are experiencing it in your own family. When creating your estate plan, this situation requires special attention. If it is your child, for example, you want to make sure your plan addresses it honestly. Let’s review some initial things you should consider to ensure your child’s needs are met while protecting their well-being.
GOALS
A good starting point is to define your goals by considering factors like your child’s long-term care, financial stability, and any specific conditions you want to set for the distribution of funds.
TYPE OF TRUST
Choosing the right type of trust is essential. For example, there are revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, or spendthrift trusts. An estate planning attorney can help you decide which is the best for your unique situation.
CHOOSING A TRUSTEE
You’ll need to choose a trustee who is capable, reliable, and well-versed in handling complex financial matters. This could be a family member, friend, attorney, or professional trustee.
DOCUMENTATION
Once you have decided on the appropriate type of trust, you and your estate planning attorney can draft the document, clearly outlining the purpose, the conditions for distribution, the trustee’s responsibilities, and the specific provisions related to your child’s substance abuse issues.
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
Overall, you want to ensure your child’s well-being while addressing the substance abuse issues.
You might want to consider special provisions such as:
• Mandatory drug/alcohol testing before distributions.
• Providing funds for addiction treatment, rehabilitation, or therapy.
• Appointing a case manager to oversee your child’s progress and treatment.
• Structured distributions to prevent a sudden windfall that could be harmful.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
If you haven’t done so already, you might want to consult an addiction specialist or therapist about how best to support them and, ideally, their recovery.
CONTROL AND DISCRETION
While the temptation may be to maintain total control, experienced estate planning attorneys will likely advise you to try to find a balance between control and discretion. You want to ensure your child’s basic needs are met without enabling ongoing destructive behavior.
A WELL-PREPARED TRUSTEE
When you choose the trustee, you should ensure they are up-to-speed on the issues at hand and provided with the information and resources to help them manage going forward.
Your estate planning attorney will ensure the trust complies with all applicable laws and regulations.
HIRE AN EXPERIENCED ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY
Creating trust for a loved one suffering from substance abuse can be emotional and complex. Rely on an experienced estate planning attorney to help guide you to ensure the trust meets your goals of protecting your loved one and supporting their recovery.
Having a loved one, particularly a child, addicted to alcohol, drugs, or even gambling is stressful for any parent. You can take steps now to help them even after you’re gone. Call me to discuss this situation; I’d be honored to help you. Call 513-399-7526 or visit my website at www.davidlefton.com to schedule a confidential consultation.