ING TRUSTS AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Diana M. Hastings*

MCLE Article

I. INTRODUCTION

Many clients wish to create trusts that benefit children or other beneficiaries but are concerned about later needing those assets themselves. Preserving the right to receive distributions, however, may expose the client’s assets to his or her creditors. Moreover, some clients are hampered in such planning by the undesirable payment of gift tax that an irrevocable gift could entail. A client may solve these problems by creating an irrevocable trust in a jurisdiction that allows the client/grantor to receive trust distributions without losing creditor protection. These trusts are commonly referred to as "ING Trusts."¹