Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Beneficiary

If you die while your children are minors, some insurance policies/retirement plan administrators will give the funds to the custodian of the children, their mother.

To avoid this, you can set up a will/trust for the benefit of your children, so that a trustee will be in charge of the money until your children reach certain ages.

Feel free to contact my office by email or by phone for a brief consultation.

Re: Beneficiary

I agree with Tony, that you can set up a trust under your Will, or have a lifetime time created while you are alive. The advantage of a lifetime trust is that, if properly drawn, not only have you covered the concerns of death while having minor children and who handles their funds, you can also do estate planning to avoid or lessen any state or federal inheritance and/or estate taxes. You do not say what is your net worth, now or anticipated, and what assets you have or anticipate, so estate planning might be a good idea all around. Contact me directly if you have any questions.