Family Trust Approved Despite Hesitation from Husband

• Petitioner: Mr. John Davis & Mrs. Meredith Davis
• Year: 2014
• Seeking: Creation of Irrevocable Family Trust
• Nationality: American
• Challenges:
  • The family is financially strained and unable to pay much
  • The Davis’ are getting older
  • Meredith feels insecure about the future, but John is hesitant to sign any papers
  • John and Meredith have past marriages, so there is fear that their former family members could theoretically try to become the legal beneficiary of their property

BACKGROUND

The biggest questions in life all spiral around our mortal center, with death always looming in the distance for us living things, it can be daunting for us as consciously aware humans to remain grounded in the physical world. What is the purpose of acquiring worldly possessions if we’re unable to take them with us when we go? The answer sits at the center of our purpose; we leave our possessions with those we love. While love may be the mightiest of all forces, it still does not defy the laws of man. So, choose your words carefully or those you love may lose all you once shared. It is with these very real fears and insecurities that Mr. Davis and Mrs. Davis first approached us.

John and Meredith are in the latter stages of their life. John is approaching 60 years old and with his declining physical health, he is hoping to retire but he, unfortunately, does not have much money saved for that period of his life to comfortably begin. Meredith is in her late 50’s as well and works a menial job, helping to pay the bills but really she’s always been more of a mom than a worker. John and Meredith don’t have children together though; they’ve been married for over ten years but the only children they have are from previous marriages.

Neither of the Davis’ speaks much to their former spouses. John is part of that unfortunate camp that lost much of his family in said divorce. Meredith’s son, Richard, lives with the happy couple but he is about to go away to school on full-ride scholarship. With her son moving on, Meredith has been wondering what she will leave behind when she is gone or what would happen to her and her son if John were to die unexpectedly.

The one valuable thing John has is the home that his family lives in. If John were to pass suddenly, Meredith fears that his children from his former marriage or worse, his ex-wife, would come to claim his property. When Meredith asked John about this, he told her not to worry, that he would make it clear in his will that the house would go to her. However, words mean nothing when someone is no longer on this Earth. So, Meredith needed to create an “irrevocable family trust”, a document that no matter what happens, will mean the house stays with her and eventually to her son. That’s where Tsang and Associates come in.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

John and Meredith were, by all definitions of the word, insecure. Their finances were dwindling and their work hours were shrinking, their bills were growing. Their love was strong, but both had come from divorce, so even their family life was insecure. Their future was not planned and they had no savings, so thus their fate was insecure. All they had was their home and Meredith desperately wanted to feel secure about one thing in her life. After hearing their stories and seeing the state John was in, we agreed to do the necessary work mostly pro-bono.

Words are cheap, and for John, it wasn’t that he didn’t mean them, it was that he didn’t want to be making a mistake. John, like many of us, has been burned before. His wedding vows from his prior marriage eventually proved to be false, even though they may have been binding at the time. When Meredith came to us and asked for help securing her and her family’s future, we were happy to talk with them, but John still needed some massaging. He loves Meredith, he loves her son, and he loves what he has, but there are always the looming suspicions of what could change and for John, that meant he would have to be careful with what he signed.

We made sure to communicate to John clearly what an irrevocable trust would mean and we worked with him to make a trust that made him and Meredith feel secure. The goal is not to make a deal that is lopsided but to make a deal that makes everyone happy. We worked for many hours free of charge, talking with the family over the phone and in-person while we prepared the final deal.

Our discussions with John were not always productive. When he arrived and read through the documents with a critical eye, we were afraid he would get cold feet and that the family would wallow in their insecurity for years to come.

OUTCOME

On the contrary to our fears, John was happy to see we had incorporated all of his requests and created a trust that truly made everyone happy. He signed the trust and now, even though life may be filled with many twists and turns, this happy couple has one less thing to worry about now that they are secure in their home. They could not be more grateful for how much work Tsang & Associate put into their future.