Vanilla Basic & Advanced Trust Packages

There are no restrictions on leaving specific gifts of cash to either an individual(s) or charity. 

You have the option to leave your remaining assets to individual(s) or charities in several different ways: equally or unequally, outright, in separate trusts, or in a pot trust.  

You can customize separate trusts for descendants and certain beneficiaries based on the age for full access, 3-tiered distributions, serving as co-trustee, and removing the trustee. If you want to customize the terms of each separate trust beyond these terms or want a pot trust to include people other than your descendants, you will need to work with an attorney.

Our subtrusts for descendants and other beneficiaries allow you to set a distribution schedule across ten years or to allow distribution all at once at a specific age. In the ten year distribution, beneficiaries receive one-third of the trust assets at the starting age,  half of remaining assets after 5 years, and then receive the remaining assets after 10 years. For example: your children could receive their first distribution at 25, then the next at 30, then the final at 35. 

Our subtrusts for descendants and other beneficiaries allow you to dictate if and when the beneficiary can act as co-trustee. You can also decide if and when the beneficiary has the power to remove other trustees.

You (and your spouse, if you’re creating a joint trust) will be the primary trustee of the revocable trust you create with Vanilla Document Builder. This means you are in charge of managing the trust assets during your lifetime.  For administration after your death, you’ll name up to three successor trustees, who will serve consecutively and who are responsible to act in the best interest of the Trust’s beneficiaries.

Your revocable trust package includes a document called a Tangible Personal Property Memorandum, where you can list physical property and who you’d like to receive it after your death. This memorandum may not be binding, depending on state law, but your trust directs your trustee to follow it after your death.

The Basic Trust Package was designed as a self-service offering using questions and templates created by leading trust and estate planning attorneys. Vanilla Document Builder has embedded help text, explanations, and Knowledge Base articles to help you navigate the product and make determinations about your estate plan. 

If you’d like to engage an attorney to answer your questions, the self-guided Basic Trust Package is not the right solution for you. 

Vanilla Document Builder offers users in select states the opportunity to directly engage a licensed estate planning attorney who will draft your estate document package. You can then inquire about estate planning topics and receive legal advice from your attorney.

There is an option to name a corporate trustee as a successor trustee. The documents include provisions for compensation to a corporate trustee and the ability to amend the documents to add administrative provisions as needed. 

At the present time, Vanilla Document Builder does not integrate with specific trust companies or corporate fiduciaries to auto-populate any required provisions or allow you to have a trust company serve as trustee immediately.  You and your advisor should work together to determine if the trust company you choose has required provisions in order to serve.

The Basic Trust Package utilizes a revocable trust and pour-over will. In a trust-based plan, the distribution provisions are contained in your revocable trust. These provisions state who gets what and how your assets are distributed to your loved ones or to a charity. When you have a will-based plan, those distribution provisions are in the will. It is still necessary to have a will when you have a trust to capture any assets titled in your individual name at your death. Those are probate assets that must be administered by the probate court. The pour-over will transfers (or “pours”) assets not already owned by the revocable trust into the revocable trust through probate administration. Since all states have different provisions, state specific language or details are included where necessary.

Vanilla Document Builder does not currently offer a will-based estate plan. This is the type of plan where all your assets will pass according to the terms of your will through probate administration. The main benefit of a trust-based plan is to avoid the costly and confusing process of probate. 

The Basic Trust includes a disclaimer trust which is considered a “wait and see” approach to estate tax planning. It allows the surviving spouse to disclaim assets and intends for them to be funded in a Disclaimer Trust that would not be subject to estate tax upon the death of the surviving spouse. This type of planning usually requires attorney advice and counsel upon the death of the first spouse to properly disclaim the assets for tax benefits. 

Vanilla Document Builder offers an Advanced Planning Package that is most common for users who may incur estate taxes. The Advanced Planning package includes a mandatory funding formula and use of a credit shelter trust to fully utilize exemption amounts to reduce estate taxes upon the second-to-die of married users. The Advanced Package also includes Trust Protector provisions and advanced optionality for power of appointment provisions to allow users to have maximum flexibility in creation of their estate plan.

The Vanilla Document Builder Basic Trust Package does not support disinheriting a spouse (choosing to leave nothing to your spouse at your death). In order to accomplish this legally, state-specific provisions must be included in the dispositive document. This cannot be done in Vanilla Document Builder. 

Vanilla Document Builder does not support disinheriting a child (choosing to leave nothing to one or more of your biological or adopted children). Each state has legal requirements that may vary state by state to accomplish disinheriting a child. Vanilla Document Builder does not currently support this in the Basic Trust Package. If married, upon your and your spouse’s death, the remaining assets will be distributed to your children. You have the choice of making equal distributions to all of your children or distributing your assets unequally to your children and other non-descendant beneficiaries.  If you choose unequal shares you are able to allot different percentages to the different beneficiaries. However, if you choose to not distribute any assets to one or more children, the document may not have the requisite language to accomplish this. It is best to retain an attorney to complete your estate plan if you wish to disinherit a child.

Vanilla Document Builder now supports joint trusts in certain separate property states. Separate property states are all states except the nine community property states. Joint trusts are trusts where husband and wife serve as settlors or creators of the trust and both have the ability to amend or revoke the trust together. Separate trusts in separate property states can be easier to administer at the death of one spouse due to the assets already being separated into two different trusts. However, there may be reasons you would prefer a joint trust even if you live in a separate property state. If you wish to have a joint trust and live in a state that is not a community property state, it is important to consult with an attorney. 

Vanilla Document Builder does not have the capability to address issues surrounding non-US citizens or foreign assets. If you or your spouse are not a US citizen or own assets outside of the United States, it is important to consult an attorney to determine any implications and necessary provisions to include in your plan. 

Vanilla Document Builder does not support appointing co-fiduciaries at this time. When appointing co-trustees in a trust or co-personal representatives in a will, it is important to understand that both fiduciaries must agree to make decisions in administration of your estate and distribution of trust assets to beneficiaries. 

Vanilla Document Builder allows you to create separate trusts for your children or other beneficiaries to be funded at your death. These separate trusts will have a single beneficiary and assets will be distributed for the beneficiary’s health, education, maintenance and support needs at the discretion of the Trustee. If you choose to create a lifetime trust for your beneficiary, Vanilla allows you to appoint the primary beneficiary of their separate trust as the Trustee at a certain age. This can be helpful to allow flexibility for the beneficiary.

A pourover will is a type of Last Will and Testament used alongside a revocable trust. It directs probate court to transfer any assets in your individual name to your trust after probate administration. This ensures that assets you have not titled in your trust during your lifetime are distributed according to the same distribution provisions you provide for in your trust. 

A trust established by your revocable trust after your death for the benefit of your spouse, child or other beneficiary. Examples of subtrusts are Marital Trust, Survivor’s Trust, or Descendant’s Trust.

A trust established by a settlor for the benefit of their surviving spouse. The Marital Trust is funded upon the death of the first spouse. When structured properly, a Marital Trust qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction. The Marital Trust is irrevocable. This means it cannot be changed by the surviving spouse during his or her lifetime. The trust will instruct the Trustee to distribute principal and income to the surviving space for his or her health, education, maintenance and/or support. At the surviving spouse’s death, the terms of the trust will govern distribution. 

A trust created when one spouse in a Joint Trust passes away to manage assets for the surviving spouse. This trust is revocable and able to be amended by the surviving spouse. It is intended to provide the surviving spouse with complete control and access to the assets you leave them. There will be no limitations on the surviving spouse as to how much they can withdraw from the trust. The surviving spouse can change the terms of the trust and decide who receives the remaining assets upon their death. 

A single irrevocable trust for each beneficiary, where distributions can be made to beneficiaries at the trustee’s discretion. The Trustee is required to make distributions for the beneficiary’s health, education, maintenance or support. In Vanilla Document Builder, this can be selected instead of a pot trust. 

A single irrevocable trust for a class of beneficiaries where distributions can be made to beneficiaries at the trustee’s discretion based on need. In Vanilla Document Builder, this can be selected instead of separate trusts for each beneficiary. The Pot trust will be funded with all assets and can have multiple beneficiaries. If one beneficiary has a greater need, due to their age or disability, the assets can be used primarily for that beneficiary. This can result in unequal distributions to beneficiaries. 

A company or organization who holds legal title to and administers property in a Trust arrangement. The corporate trustee is responsible to act in the best interest of the Trust’s beneficiaries. In Vanilla Document Builder, a corporate trustee can be named to serve as a successor.

A person or organization who steps into the trustee role to hold legal title to and administer property in a Trust arrangement when the current trustee named is no longer able or willing to serve. Trustees are fiduciaries and are responsible to act in the best interest of the Trust’s beneficiaries.

 A common strategy for staggering distributions over a set number of years to be distributed when the beneficiary reaches certain ages. In the Basic Trust Package, you can choose to provide for distributions in increments staggered over 10 years. The beneficiary will receive one-third of assets distributed at this age, half of the trust assets five years later, then the rest of the remainder ten years later.

a person appointed for a minor child if that child has no living parents or their parents are unable or unwilling to take care of the child. A new legal guardian for a minor child must be appointed by a court of law once the court determines the guardian is in the best interest of the child. A parent of a minor child can include an appointment of guardian provision in their will to set forth their intention for their child’s guardian in the event of their death. See Appointment of Guardian to learn more. 

Nine states in the United States are considered community property states. They are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Community property laws are laws that govern rights to property during marriage, divorce or death. Community property refers to property you acquire during your marriage and dictates that no matter how the property is titled, you and your spouse legally own the property equally, 50/50. Property acquired before the marriage or after the divorce are not subject to this rule. Property that is acquired during the marriage through a gift or inheritance to one spouse is not deemed community property.

All other states in the United States, except the nine community property states, follow laws known as separate property laws. If you are married and acquire property during your marriage in a separate property state, the laws of that state (known as equitable distribution) govern ownership after divorce. 

These are individual distributions of cash made to an individual or charity upon your death. If you are married you will have the option of choosing whether this gift is made if your spouse is still living at your death or only upon their death. These gifts are made before your residuary distributions.

This is the remaining assets after taxes and expenses are paid and after all specific gifts are made. The residuary will go first to your spouse, if any, and then to your children or other non-descendant beneficiaries. For your children or other beneficiaries you have the option of distributing in equal shares or non-equal shares where you will decide the percentage you wish to leave to each beneficiary