Stories about trust fund kids make great copy on TMZ and as case studies in estate planning law school courses. But planning for future trust distributions when parents and grandparents often overestimate their heirs’ ability and desire to manage money can prove difficult for advisors. What steps can be taken to provide the best beneficiary guidance?

Successful families tend to plan and develop their philosophy of money to match the family’s wealth. By providing education and tools to prepare each generation for successful handling of this wealth, the hope is that grantors will become great contributors of society. One step an advisor can take to foster this vision, is thinking ahead about the type and quantity of trust distributions a trustee will disburse to their beneficiaries. Urging grantors to communicate with their beneficiaries on their family’s philosophy of wealth can ensure collaboration and productive use of disbursements.

For more on trust distributions, read here.

Watch out for my next blog post on how I reviewed my own estate plan in August.