8/29/2019

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE RESTATEMENT OF THE TRUST

Section 3.1.1 -  It reads that my last expenses for my rites/funeral or any debts or expenses  that I might have at the time of death including expenses that I might have maintaining or administering my trust  may not be paid from the proceeds of the trust such as life insurance benefits, retirement plan or  any other asset owned by the trust.
I agree that any debt that I  have at the time of death should not be paid from the proceeds of the trust. It does beg the question though as to how will the creditors recover their money especially if the trust has money in it that can be used to pay the debt.  My last funeral rites expenses however as well as the expenses of maintaining the trust are going to have to come out of the money within the trust if that is what u mean. Could u please clarify? 
AARON'S RESPONSE: Section 3.1 says the trustee will pay these bills.

Section 4.1
The following is missing or needed to be amended in Section 4.1 :
1) The Trustee shall divide the remaining assets one 1/2 for each child that survived me which in this case wil be  my 2 daughters provided that the daughters have fulfilled the terms of their inheritance. 
2) The trustee shall also divide the remaining assets one share for each of the descendants of the non suviving child that will be managed solely by the surviving sister until the descendants reach age 25.
AARON'S RESPONSE: The “division” of shares is different from a “distribution” to your daughters. First, the assets are divided under section 4.1. Then the assets are distributed to your daughters under the rules you have established in section 4.2.
Section 4.2
After the girls complete the educational criteria and I am still living their tution will be paid out in full from the Trust. The remainder of any monies will be distributed to the girls upon my death

If I am not living  when the girls complete their educational criteria the following will transpire:
1) A seperate Trust will be created for each daughter named in this Trust Document
AARON'S RESPONSE: This is already in section 4.1
2) If real estate exists it will be sold and the proceeds will be brought into the trust.
AARON'S RESPONSE: The trust can only manage assets that it owns. Thus, if you buy real estate, you need to make sure the trust is the buyer and owns the real estate from the beginning. 
3) My IRA will split into 50% 50% shares and pass down into IRA Trusts one for each child
AARON'S RESPONSE: This is not controlled by your trust. This is controlled by the beneficiary designation you place on your IRA account.
Smeeta : Yes for now that is true but the intent is to create an IRA trust that will be named the beneficiary on my retirement accounts such that the money can be controlled and managed till the girls complete their degrees.
4) If the father is still alive live insurance premimums in the amount of $1000 per month need to be set aside. The primary homestead in which the mother lives will be sold and the proceeds from the primary homestead will be used to pay the life insurance premiums till the father passes on.
AARON'S RESPONSE: As written, the trustee has the option of continuing premiums depending on the age of your daughters and the circumstances at that time. If you want to mandate that the trustee pay for insurance premiums for their father’s life insurance, please let me know whether you would like that permanently or whether it should end when the girls get to a certain age.
Smeeta: It is a permanent life insurance policy so premiums will need to be paid until his death for now. I will ensure that u are introduced to the person/organization managing my policy as the policy does have a cash value component such that if the market does well and if the cash value starts building up there is a good possibility that the cash value can pay out the premiums.
5) Funds to administer the website needs to be set aside
AARON'S RESPONSE: This is already in section 4.2.1.1.
6) All remaining funds from the primary Trust account will be split 50% 50% deposited into the Trust account for each daughter.
AARON'S RESPONSE: This is alreadsy accomplished by the structure of section 4.1
7) Upon the father's passing the 800K life insurance death benefit along with the cash value that has built up in the policy will be deposited into the Smeeta Antony Living Trust Account
AARON'S RESPONSE: This is not controlled by your trust. This is controlled by the beneficiary designation on the life insurance policy.
Smeeta : Agreed, the beneficiary of the policy is the Smeeta Antony Living Trust.
8) At this point the girls would still have satisfied all the terms and criteria and hence each daughter should have deposited into their trust account 50% share of the life insurance death benefit proceeds.
AARON'S RESPONSE: As long as you designate this on the life insurance policy, your concerns will be addressed as you have indicated. 

General Conditions Tied to Each Daughters Trust Account
1) The money may be used solely for themselves and they may never purchase any investments or properties in any ones name but theirs.
AARON'S RESPONSE: Once your daughters have access to the money, the law lets them do whatever they want with it. There is no way to prevent them from this unless you hold the money in the trust and designate a separate trustee to manage their money for them.
2) They may never loan anyone any money out of this Trust Account.
AARON'S RESPONSE: Same answer as above. 
3) The beneficiaries of their Trust account can either be their children or a charity after their living days.
AARON'S RESPONSE: Same answer as above. 

Smeeta : Understood and Agreed. Let’s leave it for now. I will know more once I factor in the cost of managing the trust component and what it would mean to have someone actively manage their trust beyond the next 22 years as the girls are 13 now.              
SECTION 5
Defn of a Special Co-Trustee -  Could we discuss the last line where we talk about compensation where it refers to the compensations where it states that as long as the compensation is less than 2% of his or her or its income. I presume your reference to a Corporate Trustee thru this section refers to that of a Bank as we had discussed in the past. In that case What if a Bank’s Trust division managed the trust? How would the income and compensation as per this line play out in that scenario?
AARON'S RESPONSE: This is simply saying that nobody can serve as Special Co-Trustee (i.e. Trust Protector) if they receive more than 2% of their income from your family. For example, if your daughter owned a business, an employee of your daughter could not serve as Special Co-Trustee.

SECTION 6
I have thru the notes  in  my document referred to taking the matter to the county. Upon re-reading I am not sure that any county official would come in play for management of my trust after my death. That might be a scenario upon my death but not after. Bottom line I think the rest holds good where advice must/can be solicited by the beneficiaries from another legal counsel or real estate attorney such that an independent party’s recommendation may also be  presented to the judge such that a judge might be in the best position to make a decision for the beneficiaries of the trust.

6.3.3.2
My prior notes are operating under the assumption that I am no longer alive and hence my statement that any trustee may choose to willingly resign but may not be terminated by another trustee without proper cause which must be determined by court or by consensus of all participating trustees and non minor beneficiaries.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I deleted this section because you mentioned earlier that you wanted a court to select a trustee to succeed Francis Pereira and Ayanna Medina.

6.3.3.3
This paragraph includes verbiage about the Guardian or Conservator of minor beneficiaries. This scenario would come into play only If I died before the girls turned 18 which in t his case the Guardian of the girls would be their father. At no cost can the father of the girls be involved with any decision pertaining to the trust.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I deleted this section because you mentioned earlier that you wanted a court to select a trustee to succeed Francis Pereira and Ayanna Medina.
6.3.6
My apologies for my prior notes. I understand the 90 day clause better. My understanding that it is an accounting of the trust assets and expenses or anticipated costs at the time I die and that the beneficiaries or the acting trustees on their behalf have 90 days to approve or object and if none is received the person who prepared the accounts which might be the special co-trustee in this case would be relinquished from all responsibility of what was depicted in the Trust accounts preperation/listing.
AARON'S RESPONSE: You are on the right track. "Render accounts" is a legal term that means informing someone about the amounts in the accounts. The 90-day reference simply means your daughters would have 90-days to raise objections, after which they would be deemed to have found the reports acceptable. 
6.3.7
Augmenting my initial notes I do not like the concept of a trustee handing over a power of attorney to another trustee such that the receiving trustee of such a power of attorney may act on the behalf of the trustee granting the power of attorney. 
If decisions are delayed due to the unavailability of a trustee and his/her absence is deemed irresponsible, then his/her resignation may be called for by the other trustees and if the trustee refuses to willingly resign then it should be presented to court.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I revised this section to address your concerns.

6.3.10 – I think I will amend this to the personal representatives receiving a copy of my bank locker key after speaking to the banker that they will be authorized to use only after my death as instructed by the trust which might mean me crafting a power of attorney allowing the bank to allow the personal representative access to the digital electronic mediums that I would have stored in my bank locker besides my website.
AARON'S RESPONSE: That makes sense. You can simply coordinate with the bank to take care of this.

6.4.1.2
My apologies. Upon reading this some more I understand the intent behind this paragraph. This paragraph applies in case I want to instruct the custodian of my retirement plan which in this case is Charles Schwab to disperse funds to the trust in case I need it for the beneficiaries health, education or support. I understand the intent, I am not likely to see it happen as I would like to refrain from making any discretionary payments to the beneficiaries till the complete the terms of the trust to come into their inheritance.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I left this section unchanged. 

6.4.1.3
Upon reading this paragraph closer and again it seems like it is pertinent to after my death hence the verbiage “Determination of the beneficiary”. In principal I agree if this paragraph strictly pertains to retirement benefits alone and after my death. However the retirement sub trust or the IRA Trust will have its own expenses which will need to come out of the IRA trust. So a blanket statement like that will not cover for the required minimum expenses that the trust will have. Also the same terms of the main trust will also apply to the IRA trust. So if the beneficiaries do not complete the criteria that will make them come into the IRA money then the IRA trust will also be donated to charity so to say that this trust can never be donated to charity is inaccurate.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I left this section unchanged. 

7.1.2
I cannot have any other children medically and I have not intention of adopting any child. For the purposes of this legal document the only children that count are the immediate generation in existence Renelle and Raeanna Raghavan.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I revised this section to address your concerns.    

7.1.3 – I have addressed how survivorship of the deceased child siblings should work. Of the 50% allotted to the deceased child i.e. Raeanna or Renelle assuming the deceased child did complete the terms and criteria of the trust her direct descendants will receive equal shares of the mothers share if the mother was entitled to her share which will then be managed by the sister till the descendants are of age 25.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I deleted this definition. It is not necessary.     
7.1.6 – It is up to me to pick a Corporate Trustee if I want to have one place to manage the trust and hence am not comfortable with the criteria placed that the corporate trust must have One Hundred Million Dollars in Trust Assets
AARON'S RESPONSE: I revised this section to address your concerns.    
7.3.2 – Upon reading this more carefully I think I get what u are trying to say. In my case I do own a life insurance policy or will be owning one shortly on the life of my ex-husband who is not a Trustee of my Trust. Such a policy is totally vested in me and all ownership of such is a policy is owned solely by me the Trustee of the Trust and not by ex-husband who is the insured in this case.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I deleted this definition. It is not relevant to your situation.      

7.3.4 – I would like to limit this by saying that a Trust will be opened in each beneficiary’s name where the 50% share that she is entitled to is transferred to her trust in 2 stages. One when she completes the criteria her college expense is paid out. The other after my living days or upon my passing she will be entitled to 50% of what is remaining within the Trust as well as the IRA Trust. This trust will have criteria where she cannot co-sign or transfer any of her share to anyone let be spouse or any other relation. She cannot buy property with anyone else. Any monies withdrawn from this account has to be solely used for the beneficiary and needs to be reported on her Tax Statement as such.
AARON'S RESPONSE: There cannot be a stage while you are alive, because the trust is solely for you while you are alive. After you pass, and after a daughter gets her degrees, she will receive the money. Once she receives the money, the trust (and you) have no ability to control what she does with it. After your daughters fulfill their education requirements, the only way to keep control of their funds is to keep the money in the trust and appoint a separate trustee to manager your daughters’ funds for them.
7.3.5
I have included in my notes that my children Raeanna and Renelle will be given the opportunity to complete the terms of the trust by the time they reach age 35. If upon reaching age 35 they are in the process of completing the criteria they will be given the opportunity to complete out the criteria. Phase 1 of the distribution of funds only entails paying out their college expenses in full. Phase 2 will be dispersed to both beneficiaries upon my passing and only after they complete the criteria that allows them to their inheritance. If by age 35 they have not completed the criteria nor are in the process of completing out the criteria the Trust will be shut down and donated to the victims, survivors and families of Domestic Violence beginning with the families that suffered the harshest kind of abuse.
AARON'S RESPONSE: I incorporated your wishes into section 4.2. This section 7.3.5 relates to an old legal doctrine (“Rule Against Perpetuities”), and is required to avoid making the trust void.