Maintaining A Residence
If children are still living at home and entrenched in their school district with their friends, it's possible to use a trust to continue maintaining a home for the children if the guardians are willing to move into your home temporarily.
The living trust can state how long the children and guardians may stay in the home, such as age 18 or after completing college, at which point the home is sold and distributed according to the trust's terms.
Prior to that point, the trust can instruct the successor trustee to use the trust's assets to pay for any of costs associated with the home, such as:
Allowing use of assets by certain people before being distributed to others is called a "life estate".
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- Mortgage
- Taxes
- Utilities
- Upkeep
- Insurance
If guardians are moving into the home temporarily, they can use the opportunity to rent their home and live in yours rent-free.
Blended families and other family
In the case of blended families, sometimes the deceased spouse is the sole owner of a residence. If the deceased spouse has the home in his or her own trust, the trust can allow the surviving spouse to continue living in the home until he or she chooses to move out or passes away.
The trust can specify what costs associated with the home are to be picked up by the trust and which costs, if any, will be covered by the surviving spouse.
The beneficiaries of the trust are unable to force the spouse out of the home. Once the spouse is no longer using the home (or however the trust dictates the terms), the home may then be sold and proceeds distributed to the beneficiaries of the deceased spouse.
This arrangement, known as a life estate, can be used for other assets and caring for other family members, such as a spouse of a blended family, parents, siblings and even
pets (a small sum can be set aside for food, vet and other bills).
Consult an attorney to discuss various options when providing ongoing care and support for family members.
