If you’ve ever done any estate planning, you know how complicated it can all seem. There are grantor trusts, non-grantor trusts, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, simple trusts, complex trusts, annuity trusts, charitable remainder trusts, defective trusts and even intentionally defective trusts. And, of course, all of these trusts have acronyms, such as RLTs, IDGTs, GRATs, CRATs, CRUTS, ILITs and even a QTIP. It can be a challenge, to say the least.

Why is it all so complex? First, lawyers can be complex. Also, many politicians are lawyers. So the laws they create are complex and are becoming more so by the day. That then creates the need for complex regulations to help the lawyers interpret the complex laws, created by the former lawyers turned politicians.

But at Craven Capital, we value simplicity. So, although we cannot change the laws, we can and do help you understand what trust and estate planning should mean to you and your situation.

When your situation requires expert legal and/or accounting advice, we are equipped to refer you to the highly qualified lawyers and accountants whom we feel will best match your needs, both from a legal and personal perspective. And these experts will try to keep the process as simple as possible too.

What we do best is help to guide you through the maze of complexity so at the end of the day, you will understand the trust and estate planning process and the resulting structure that addresses your particular set of circumstances.