TSP – hey retired federal employees – Did you know you could do asset protection planning for your TSP? You can use a trust to plan for your TSP. Why would you do that? To protect the TSP if your surviving spouse goes into a nursing home. Estate planning is about facing statistical likelihoods, and avoiding the worst consequences with a well thought out plan.
Our mission at Penbay Estate Planning Law Center is to make custom estate plans that preserve family wealth and prevent family conflict. Who are you preserving your wealth for? For you. But also for your surviving spouse, and any other people you care about. When we plan, we plan for today’s reality. According to the government agency on aging it is a statistical likelihood – more than 70% of folks over age 60 will require some long term care before they die. Long term care is very expensive. Planning is about asking the “what if” questions. As in, what if, when inheriting my TSP, my spouse is in a nursing home? Or about to need long term care? Often times, a surviving spouse may be vulnerable when inheriting a TSP – may even be in or about to go into a nursing home. With a trust, you can make that inheritance conditional. That means, if your beneficiary is vulnerable, the money is held in a special trust for their benefit. That way it is not dissipated unnecessarily.
With a LifeCounsel® trust money can be used for the surviving spouse, without making them ineligible for Mainecare. It can be used for them without making it available to creditors, or opportunists.
If you have a Thrift Savings Plan, you should consider if you have a plan to protect it for your beneficiaries.
Asset Protection for Federal Employee TSP Thrift Savings Plan
