Maria and Joseph use an Irrevocable Trust to protect their real estate assets and preserve that income for their children. Here is their story.

Maria and Joseph are now in their late sixties and have lived in Boston their whole lives. They also shared similar backgrounds: both of their families came from Ireland to Boston in the early twentieth century. They grew up in South Boston and met in high school, marrying shortly after graduation. They moved into a home in the Arlington area after they found out Maria was pregnant with their first child. In all, they would have a son, Joseph Jr., and twin daughters, Mary and Catherine.

Joseph’s family owned several properties throughout Boston and earned most of their income as landlords. Joseph would join the family business and learn the ropes of being a landlord. Maria helped manage properties and performed move-in and move-out cleaning between tenants. As the children grew older, she would take on housecleaning clients of her own; she and Joseph reinvested a portion of her earnings into updating their properties and acquiring new ones.

From an early age on, their children made it clear they were not interested in the day-to-day business of being landlords. The younger Joseph went on to get a computer science degree, while his sisters both went to nursing school. All three children now live outside of Massachusetts and only visit their parents for a few weeks a year. Now, their busy schedules and their own families make it impossible for them to take over the family business even if they wanted to.

Several years ago, however, Maria and Joseph chose an irrevocable trust as a way of protecting their real estate assets and preserving that income for their children. They knew that irrevocable trusts require a lot of decision-making and planning, so they started legal and financial consultations early.

Maria and Joseph have arranged for the trustees of their irrevocable trust to manage their rental properties and collect the income on behalf of their minor grandchildren, in anticipation of these grandchildren’s future college tuition costs.

Soon they will transfer their properties to the trust and no longer have to worry about maintenance and tenant management as they get older. As an added benefit, Maria and Joseph have preserved their Social Security and Medicare eligibility by moving a large portion of their income out of their control; as they plan to retire to an assisted living community in a few years, this is an important consideration for them.

Maria and Joseph, through an irrevocable trust, have preserved their family’s longstanding source of income without burdening their adult children with the stresses of managing an extensive real estate portfolio. Their foresight will continue to benefit their family for generations by allowing their grandchildren to go to college without taking on too much debt.

We know our community; we know trusts; we can’t wait to get to know you.

After a lifetime of hard work, you deserve to protect your assets and pass them on to your family. With a little foresight, and help from the experienced trust lawyers at Gosselin Law, estate planning can cap off a lifetime of devotion to your family and community.

Gosselin Law has worked with many clients like Maria and Joseph. We have changed the name and identifiable details of these characters in order to protect our client’s privacy. This story captures the circumstance and type of clients Gosselin Law has helped over the past 25 years. Call today to discuss your options and together we can put together a plan as unique as your story.