Marital Trust

A Marital Trust typically would be created on your death under the terms of your Living Trust. The trust is designed to benefit the surviving spouse and minimize estate taxes. To achieve the tax benefits, the income from the trust must be paid to the surviving spouse after your death. The surviving spouse may have the right to withdraw part or all of the property, and the trustee may be given the discretion to distribute trust principal to the surviving spouse for certain purposes (e.g., health, education, maintenance and support). The surviving spouse would have the right to designate how and to whom the property in the Marital Trust would be distributed upon his or her death.