Will Credit Shelter Trust

You can be trustee of your own living trust. If you are married, your spouse can be trustee with you. Most married couples who own assets together, especially those who have been married for some time, are usually co-trustees.

Trust B is irrevocable, the surviving spouse cannot change its terms. When one spouse dies the survivor must hire a lawyer or an accountant to determine how to best divide the couple's assets between the deceased spouse's irrevocable trust and the surviving spouse's revocable trust.

In the case of a marital trust, the IRS subjects the remaining trust assets to federal estate taxes when the surviving spouse passes. However, a couple can take advantage of the federal gift and estate tax exemption. This is the amount that you can pass on to heirs before you'd ever owe an actual estate tax.

First, in a standard credit shelter trust, there is no step-up in basis at the death of the surviving spouse.Second, the credit shelter trust is a separate taxpayer and requires its own tax return, Form 1041.

A marital trust starts as a revocable living trust. A surviving spouse can be its trustee.

Assets that have been conveyed into a revocable living trust do get a step-up in basis when they are distributed to the beneficiaries after the passing of the grantor. We should point out the fact that the beneficiaries would be responsible for any future appreciation from a capital gains perspective.

A credit shelter trust (CST) is a trust created after the death of the first spouse in a married couple. Assets placed in the trust are generally held apart from the estate of the surviving spouse, so they may pass tax-free to the remaining beneficiaries at the death of the surviving spouse.

The "A Trust" is also commonly referred to as the "Marital Trust," "QTIP Trust," or "Marital Deduction Trust." The "B Trust" is also commonly referred to as the "Bypass Trust," "Credit Shelter Trust," or "Family Trust."

Yes, the surviving spouse may serve as trustee of the credit shelter trust.All of the assets in the credit shelter trust, including any appreciation in value during the surviving spouse's lifetime, pass free of estate tax to the beneficiaries.