Get Protected

The estate and gift tax reduction benefits of a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT) are widely understood. But an often overlooked QPRT benefit is the asset protection it provides. The QPRT is a self-settled trust, which typically does not provide much in the way of asset protection. Creditors can generally reach any interest retained by a client who establishes a self-settled trust. The homeowner who transfers a residence to a QPRT, however, only retains a term interest in the residence. The remainder interest, which is due to transfer to the beneficiaries at the end of the trust term, is not a retained interest of the homeowner, and, therefore, it is protected from the original homeowner's creditors.