Mark Kohler explains how wealthy families use trusts to control assets after death. Instead of leaving money outright, they set conditions: college funding tied to GPA, startup money that requires a business plan, distributions at specific ages, or incentives for charity and education. Trusts let you shape behavior from beyond the grave.
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In the Supreme Court of the United States. This is often called dead hand control, where your your hand comes out of the grave to control all of your assets even while you're gone. A living trust gives you total control even after you're gone. Now, a will can only say who gets what, but a trust can say who gets what, when and how, and even under what certain conditions. This is how the wealthy parents protect their heirs from bad decisions, predators, creditors, and even themselves. Examples of what wealthy families will often do is allocate money for college. Maybe even specific GPAs are required. They'll provide money for a first home. They'll provide money for a business startup and funding with a business plan presented to a trustee or a panel. They'll provide distributions at stages, for example, at ages 25, 30, 35. They'll even create restrictions for addictions of gambling or financial instability. But they also want to encourage good behavior for charity or education or mission work. This isn't about control for control's sake. It's about protecting children, helping them make good decisions, and learning about money before they receive, maybe all of it.
