Qualified Terminable Interest Property

A QTIP Trust typically would be created on your death under the terms of your Living Trust. This trust is designed to benefit a surviving spouse and minimize estate taxes and possibly Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes. To achieve the tax benefits, the surviving spouse must receive the income from the trust. In addition, the trustee may be given discretion to distribute principal to the surviving spouse for certain purposes (e.g., health, education, maintenance and support). The major difference between the QTIP Trust and the Marital Trust described in No. 3 is that the grantor — not the surviving spouse — would determine how and to whom the trust property is to be distributed on the surviving spouse’s death. For this reason, QTIP Trusts are often used in second marriage situations.