It is possible you may not be confident of the intentions of your in-laws.
There is often tension between in-laws. Someone in the U.K. recently expressed concern on how to protect a child’s inheritance from a bad son-in-law, according to the This Is Money advice column “I have a terminal illness and our son-in law is unreliable with money – how can we protect daughter’s inheritance?“.
The answer in the U.S. is the same as it is in the U.K.
In estate planning, this plays out with the parents being wary that their son-in-law or daughter-in-law will meddle in the inheritance of the parents’ own children and waste the inheritance.
Instead of leaving a child an inheritance outright through a will, a trust can be used to protect the assets from a wayward in-law.
With a trust, you can make sure the money is only used for things you would want.
If your child gets divorced, the trust can also protect the inheritance in the divorce.
An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your particular circumstances, which may include considerations for a son-in-law or daughter-in-law.
Reference: This Is Money (Sep. 8, 2017) “I have a terminal illness and our son-in law is unreliable with money – how can we protect daughter’s inheritance?“
