Behavior Modification

Beyond providing money for emergencies, a generation-skipping trust can be structured in ways that attempt to guide the behavior and life choices of future generations of family members. The trust does this by providing financial incentives to live in a certain way or to make life choices the trust’s creator thinks will be in their long-term best interests. Here are some provisions that might be placed in a trust:

Public Service Incentive. The trust may reward public service by supplementing the salary of a family member who chooses to work at a non-profit or in government, careers that often pay less than the private sector.

Achievement Bonus. The trust may make distributions to family members at certain milestones, such as graduating from college, earning a professional license, or buying a home.