• Skip to navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

AAEPA, Inc

Find a Member Member's Login
Call Today (800) 846-1555
  • Membership
    • Membership Membership
    • submenu
      • Why Join?
      • Member Requirements
      • Become A Member
      • Meet the Team
  • Estate planning software
  • Education
  • Practice management
    • Practice management Practice Management
    • submenu
      • 11 Essential Systems
      • Coaching
      • Law Firm Marketing
  • Resources
    • Resources Resources
    • submenu
      • Live Training
      • Blog
  • Contact Us

Basics of Estate Planning: Joint, Separate, and Unmarried Trusts

Home » Estate Planning » Basics of Estate Planning: Joint, Separate, and Unmarried Trusts
Man putting pen to paper

This is another in a series of blogs on the basics of estate planning. In the last blog in the series, we looked at the income taxation of trusts. This week, we’ll look at the different types of revocable trusts for different family situations.

The first and simplest to understand is the unmarried trust. This revocable trust is established for one unmarried individual. It is taxed as a grantor trust because it is revocable. It may use the grantor’s social security number as the tax id number for the trust. See Regulation 1.671-4.

The grantor of the trust typically serves as the trustee and manages the trust while they have capacity. Upon their incapacity or death, their successor trustee(s) manage the trust as they had intended. The grantor may revoke or alter the trust at any time and may direct the trustee to distribute more assets to them, for example.

When an individual is married, they may either do a married separate trust or a married joint trust. A married separate trust accepts the assets of the individual spouse and operates much like the unmarried trust during lifetime. At death, typically such a trust splits into a Family Trust for the surviving spouse and children and perhaps a Marital Trust for the amount over the estate tax exclusion. Then, after the death of the surviving spouse, the assets go as directed by the grantor. This trust may be advantageous over giving the assets directly to the surviving spouse because the predeceasing spouse retains control over the assets and their ultimate disposition via the Family and Marital trusts.

A married individual may also create a married joint trust. A married joint trust is commonly used in community property states and may be used in separate property states, as well. With the Academy’s married joint trust, there are two “contributive shares” of the trust. A spouse’s contributive share includes all of their separate property and ½ of the community property. They retain control of this property during life, just as they would in the unmarried or married separate trust. A joint trust is really two married separate trusts joined in one trust. Clients often like a married joint trust because it is like joint property, with which they typically are familiar already. There will be three schedules for the property in the trust, schedule A which would include the community or tenant in common property, schedule B which would consist of any separate property of spouse 1, and schedule C which would consist of any separate property of spouse 2. Often, all the property is community or tenant in common property and, therefore, all assets would be on schedule A and nothing would be on schedules B or C.

If the spouses are married and filing a joint income tax return, they may use the social security number of a spouse as the tax ID number of the trust. In the unusual circumstance where the spouses are not filing a joint income tax return, they’d need to get an employer identification number for the trust. Then the trust would report all items of income attributable to spouse 1’s assets to spouse 1 and those attributable to spouse 2 to spouse 2.

In upcoming blogs in the series, I’ll cover more on the Basics of Estate Planning.

Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M.
Associate Director of Education
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Steve Hartnett
Steve Hartnett
Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
Steve Hartnett
Latest posts by Steve Hartnett (see all)
  • Double Your Gifting with Spousal Gift-Splitting - January 11, 2022
  • Tax Planning for 2022 - December 28, 2021
  • Donor Advised Funds: Too Good to Be True? - August 10, 2021
SHARE

About Steve Hartnett

Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our blog

Recent Posts

  • Turning Stalled Out Goals into Actions
  • What Makes a Will or Trust Invalid
  • Ultimate Social Media Cheat Sheet: Character Limits & Best Days/Times to Post
  • Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses
  • Do You Thank Those Behind the Scene?

Categories

  • Academy Girl Friday (33)
  • Client Services (238)
  • Coaching (33)
  • Consumer Advantage (3)
  • Counseling (21)
  • Elder Law (5)
  • Estate Planning (918)
  • Estate Planning Documents (5)
  • Estate Planning Education (199)
  • Financial Analysis (3)
  • Financial Services (1)
  • General (19)
  • Law Firm Marketing (281)
  • Law Firm Net Revenue (7)
  • Law Firm Staffing (99)
  • Law Firm Technology (45)
  • Law Firm Web Tips (185)
  • Leadership (191)
  • Legal Education (644)
  • Marketing Tools (2)
  • Medicaid (1)
  • Member Services (1)
  • Owners Compensation (1)
  • Peak Performer Focus (1)
  • Practice Building Calls (1)
  • Practice Management (495)
  • SEO/Social Media Support (3)
  • Software (6)
  • Strategic Planning (9)
  • Uncategorized (15)

Footer

logo of American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

About Us

  • Meet the Team
  • Site Map
  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Explore Our Services

  • Coaching
  • Estate planning software
  • Events
  • Legal education
  • Marketing
  • Web and SEO

Keep in Touch

Mon-Fri

9444 Balboa Ave. Suite 300

San Diego

(800) 846-1555

info@aaepa.com

Take Back Control of Your Business and Your Life

+

footer section | American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

© 2022 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc All rights reserved.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Don't sell my personal information.
Cookie Settings Accept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Save & Accept