Q: How many elephants will fit into a Minivan?

A: Four: Two in the front, two in the back.

Q: How many giraffes will fit into a Minivan?

A: None. It’s full of elephants.

Jokes aside, you can fit just about any asset into a trust. Here is a “short” list of assets actually placed into trusts:

1. Airplanes
2. Antique automobiles
3. Antiques
4. Artwork
5. Assets held by C Corporation
6. Assets held by S Corporation
7. Autographed books
8. Barn doors
9. Beach house
10. Beanie Babies
11. Boats
12. Bonds
13. Books
14. Bookstore
15. Boxes
16. Boxing gloves
17. Broadway musical
18. C Corporation stock
19. Cheese shoppe
20. Chocolate store specializing in “I love chocolate” t-shirts
21. Chocolate store specializing in baking chocolate
22. Chocolate store specializing in bars of chocolate
23. Chocolate store specializing in candy-coated chocolate
24. Chocolate store specializing in chocolate and almonds
25. Chocolate store specializing in chocolate mixed with peanut butter
26. Chocolate store specializing in couverture chocolate
27. Chocolate store specializing in dark chocolate
28. Chocolate store specializing in milk chocolate
29. Chocolate store specializing in organic chocolate
30. Chocolate store specializing in hot chocolate
31. Chocolate store specializing in liqueurs chocolate
32. Chocolate store specializing in semi dark chocolate
33. Chocolate store specializing in sweet chocolate
34. Chocolate store specializing in white chocolate
35. Chocolate store* (You’re now probably quizzically asking, “Should I send Gordong chocolate?”)
36. Coin collections
37. Comic books collection
38. Commercial and residential real estate
39. Condominiums
40. Credit card rebates
41. Cupcakery
42. Depression-era glass
43. Dolls
44. Enamelware
45. Equestrian ribbons
46. Farmland
47. Ghosts
48. Gold bullion
49. Grain
50. Guitars
51. Hedge fund carried interest
52. Historic papers
53. Installment notes
54. Intellectual property
55. Law firm
56. Life insurance
57. Limited liability partnerships
58. Livestock
59. Marbles
60. Mineral rights
61. Monica (my wife)
62. Moonstone
63. Music store
64. Mutual funds
65. NHL team
66. Oil and gas interests
67. Olives
68. Operating partnership units
69. Paint-by-number landscapes
70. Painted planks
71. Paintings
72. Patents
73. Photographs
74. Pickles
75. Pooled income funds
76. Racehorses
77. Real estate
78. Restaurant
79. Restricted stock (144 and 145)
80. Retained life estate
81. Retirement benefits
82. Royalties
83. S Corporation stock
84. Sculpture
85. Sculpture garden
86. Sea urchins
87. Seat on New York Mercantile Stock Exchange
88. Seats at events
89. Snow globes
90. Soda pop bottles
91. Spirits of the damned
92. Stamp Collection
93. Stocks
94. Tangible personal property
95. Taxidermy
96. Teddy bears
97. Timber deeds
98. Vacation home
99. Vehicles
100. Violin
101. Wines

*Yes, this is a cry for help. I love sweets, especially chocolate, way too much.

Why put assets in trust?

There can be many reasons to use a trust, and specific benefits can accrue from specific trusts. In general, there are four great reasons to initiate a trust.

1. Save money

Using a trust, you avoid probate, which can save you lots of money. Probate will generally take two percent-plus of your estate, and even “just” two percent of your entire estate can add up to a lot of money. Avoiding probate also helps you avoid fees, costs, and taxes.

2. Save time

Using a trust, you avoid probate, which can save you lots of time. Going through probate, even here in Iowa, can take several months, to a year, or even more. Your heirs and beneficiaries may not receive their inheritances until the end of this probate process. Again, with trusts, you bypass probate. With trusts, your beneficiaries can get their inheritances in mere days, or weeks, rather than several months.

3. Flexibility of distributions

Don’t want your 18-year-old to inherit half-a-million dollars in one fell swoop? I agree it’s not a good idea. Trusts offer flexibility for the payout of inheritances. You set the ground rules of when and how distributions are made. For example, you might decide your children can receive distributions at certain ages. (For example, one-third at age 25, one-third at age 30, and the remaining at age 40). Or, you might decide your children can receive distributions at the attainment of certain milestones, such as marriage, the birth of a child, buying a first home, or receiving a certain degree

4. Privacy

Probate proceedings are public. Your will, once you pass and it is filed in court, is a public record. Some desire privacy about financial matters (say, about their family business) even after death.

Also, privacy can prevent hurt feelings among family members. For example, do you really want your Cousin Joe to know he received significantly less than all the other cousins?

What are the drawbacks to a trust?

It’s more expensive to set up a trust than basic estate plan documents, although I would say those costs are greatly outweighed by the money you’ll save your estate in the end. It’s also a bit of an administrative hassle, as your assets (such as car, house, stock funds, etc.) have to be retitled in the name of the trust. Again, though, I believe this inconvenience is much outweighed by the smooth operation of a trust at death.

Let’s talk about trusts!

Have an asset that didn’t make the list of 101 items? It can probably still go in a trust (even if it isn’t chocolate related!). Sometimes it’s hard to know if a trust may be right for your personal situation. It certainly doesn’t hurt to take me up on my offer for a free one-hour consultation. Give me a call at 515-371-6077 or shoot me an email at gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com.