Credit Shelter Trust

Unlike with a QTIP trust, the surviving spouse typically has complete control over a marital trust, including use of the trust assets and final say on designating who the final beneficiaries are. A QTIP trust offers more control to the grantor but less control to the surviving spouse compared to marital trust.

Also called an "A" trust, a marital trust goes into effect when the first spouse dies. Assets are moved into the trust upon death and the income that these assets generate go to the surviving spouseunder some arrangements, the surviving spouse can also receive principal payments.

A marital trust allows the couple's heirs to avoid probate and take less of a hit from estate taxes by taking full advantage of the unlimited marital deductiona provision that enables spouses to pass assets to each other without tax consequences.

A QTIP trust (officially a qualified terminable interest property trust) is a type of trust that allows someone to provide income for their surviving spouse and bequeath property and assets to a different set of beneficiaries.

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

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.

A marital trust is a type of irrevocable trust that allows you to transfer assets to a surviving spouse tax free. It can also shield the estate of the surviving spouse before the remaining assets pass on to your children.

QTIP trusts are put to use in estate planning and are especially useful when beneficiaries exist from a previous marriage but the grantor dies before a subsequent spouse does. With a QTIP, estate tax is not assessed at the point of the first spouse's death, but is instead determined after the second spouse has passed.