Fair and equitable inheritances for children

What if, before the age of majority and full inheritance, one of your children had an opportunity to attend an elite school? What if one decided to study finance, while another pursued a less bankable profession? Our team here at the office of Joseph A. Ledwidge, P.C., strives to aid New York parents in developing long-term, sustainable estate distribution strategies that would be fair to all children, even in the face of these types of complex situations.

Even if you were the parent of a single child, it could benefit your progeny and your estate to consider some alternatives to a standard will. The courts in New York would probably be relatively simplistic when it comes to distributing your assets to your minor child or children. 

Possibly the most common advice we find ourselves giving to clients is to establish trusts for their children. These documents have the potential to have the secondary effect of being an ethical signpost in addition to managing assets on behalf of your heirs . For example, you could set up a trust that stipulates that your child graduate from high school or college before obtaining access to funds.

We see many trusts that set the age of the beneficiary as the only requirement for access. However, other conditions could be effective, such as the academic example above. You could consider common examples of criteria for fund access, such as:

• Low annual salaries
• Keeping good grades
• Avoiding criminal conviction

Our office is proud to help families make sense of complex estate planning, working towards management plans that are simple, equitable, exhaustive and legal. Please read more on our main site.