San Diego Estate Planning Lawyer Blog
Are you following in the footsteps of past Americans utilizing trusts?
If you have a revocable living trust, you are in good company. Many famous people from the past utilized trusts as part of their estate plan.
When the 13 colonies declared independence in 1776, the richest man was a Senator from Pennsylvania named William Bingham. He created a trust in 1804 for his vast estate in Maine.
Joseph Kennedy, father of President John F. Kennedy established many trusts. One was to own the famous Chicago Merchandise Mart. He also created a family trust and many tax shelter trusts. His son, John F. Kennedy, had a trust. So did his son, John F. Kennedy Jr. who died in a plane crash.
William Waldorf Astor created a trust in 1991 saving his heirs millions of dollars which, without a trust, would have gone for probate fees and taxes.
The Rockefellers used various types of trusts to reduce their estate taxes. It has been estimated that they created well over 100 trusts. Likewise, H.L. Hunt, a Texas billionaire, used about 25 trusts, many for his children.
Linda Mc Cartney, wife of Beatle Paul McCartney, had a trust.
Diana, Princess of Wales, left her $35 million estate in trust for her sons William and Harry.
Baseball great Joe DiMaggio created trusts for his great grandchildren.
Ronald Reagan established a trust.
Sir Edmund Hillary, the famous mountain climber who climbed Mt. Everest set up a charitable trust for sherpas in the Himalayas.
You don’t need to be rich or famous to set up a trust. Ordinary people can benefit from a trust as the main component of their estate plan. If you still need to set up a living trust for your estate, contact the San Diego estate planning lawyers at Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation for a free consultation.