GF593 · Unit 5

GF593 Unit 5 trust structure memo example

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A son of 31 who receives SSI and Medicaid would lose both on inheriting an outright third of 2,500,000, and the memo shown for GF593's Unit 5 argues for the structure that prevents it. Addressed to a composite North Carolina couple of 66 and 63, it recommends revocable trusts now and a supplemental needs trust at the second death.

What this page holds

Revocable now, supplemental needs later, irrevocable not yet: GF593's Unit 5 trust structure memo reaches that sequence for one composite couple whose son depends on benefits. Searches like "gf 593 unit 5 assignment example", "gf593 unit 5 sample" and "gf593 unit 5 example" land here.

What a finished GF593 Unit 5 trust structure memo looks like

Five pages in memo form, addressed to the couple. The recommendation fills the first paragraph, with its three parts named. Facts follow in a short table: a house of 610,000, a South Carolina beach condo of 420,000, retirement accounts of 850,000, brokerage and cash of 370,000 and a 250,000 policy, for 2,500,000 in all. Two daughters are self-supporting; the son's share would be about 833,333. The memo then compares four structures on one grid: outright equal shares, disinheriting the son and trusting his sisters, a revocable trust with a supplemental needs sub-trust, and an irrevocable trust funded today. Each is scored on benefit eligibility, control during life, probate avoidance in two states and cost. A final page covers the retirement accounts, where the son's third, about 283,333, needs a trust drafted to receive it.

How a GF593 Unit 5 example is structured

Recommendation first, then the facts that justify it, then the rejected alternatives, which is the order a client reads in. The argument rests on one purpose stated early: keep the son eligible for means-tested benefits while his inheritance pays for what those programs do not. Every structure on the grid is judged against that purpose before cost or convenience enters. Outright shares fail at once because the resource limit sits near [2,000]. Relying on the sisters fails on enforceability and on exposure to their own creditors and divorces. An irrevocable trust today is rejected for want of a reason: the estate sits well under the exemption for the year named, and the couple would surrender control for nothing. The revocable trust also keeps the condo out of a second probate. Retirement accounts get their own section.

One purpose, stated first

Eligibility for SSI and Medicaid is named as the test every structure must pass, ahead of taxes, cost or convenience.

Four structures on one grid

Outright shares, a moral obligation on the sisters, a revocable trust with a needs sub-trust, and an irrevocable trust today, each scored on four criteria.

Why irrevocable is premature

An estate below the exemption for the named year gives no tax reason to give up control, so the memo defers that choice and says what would reopen it.

A condo in a second state

Retitling the South Carolina condo into the trust avoids ancillary probate there, which the memo counts as the revocable trust's second benefit.

Retirement money to a proper trust

The son's third of the IRA and 401(k), about 283,333, goes to a trust drafted so that life expectancy payouts remain available to him.

Where marks go in GF593 Unit 5

Memos describing revocable and irrevocable trusts side by side without choosing between them miss what the unit asks for, and graders in most sections read the first paragraph for a recommendation. A trust proposed without a stated purpose earns little even when every feature is described accurately. For this family, papers leaving the son an outright share, or disinheriting him and relying on his sisters with no discussion of enforceability, show the benefit problem has not been understood. Recommending an irrevocable trust with no tax or protection reason draws comment as well. Retirement accounts left out of the trust discussion are a frequent gap, since a beneficiary form can defeat the whole structure. A memo naming a trustee without weighing the sisters' own circumstances gives up a smaller share.

Get a GF593 Unit 5 example written to your instructions

Name the Unit 5 family, the structures your prompt asks to compare and the state, and attach the rubric. A recommendation lands in the memo's first paragraph, and each alternative is then tested against the family's own purpose before cost enters the discussion. Opening sample at no charge, within 24-48h.

GF593 Unit 5 questions, answered

Is a supplemental needs trust the same as a special needs trust?

The terms overlap and states use them differently. The sample uses supplemental needs trust for a third-party trust funded with the parents' money, which does not require Medicaid payback at the son's death. A first-party trust holding the beneficiary's own assets is a different instrument with a payback requirement, and the memo notes the distinction in one sentence.

Why not just leave the son's share to a sister?

Because nothing obliges her to use it for him, and the money becomes hers in law. Her creditors, a divorce or her own death could send it elsewhere. The sample scores this option on the grid and rejects it on enforceability, while acknowledging why families choose it: it is simple, and it feels safe until something happens to the sister.

Does the memo count as legal advice for a family like mine?

No. It is coursework built on a composite case, and benefit rules, trust law and drafting requirements vary by state and change over time. A family in this position would work with an attorney who practices special needs planning. The sample states that limit once, near the end, and keeps the body on the reasoning.