Sadly, many clients walk into an estate planning attorney's office and are never asked about the clients' outlook for the future. What world do they expect to hand down to their children? What opportunities will their children have? What opportunities will not otherwise be available? Will they live in a free society?
The reality is that many people, myself included, believe that future will be characterized by severe and ever increasing economic strife, government regulation, corruption, tyranny and societal decay.
These particular clients' heartfelt and valid concerns shouldn't just be taken into consideration, they should be the foundation for which their plans are built.
Below I have listed some provisions that could be implemented in almost any Trust plan
Estate Planning Trust Provisions for the Economic Collapse
1. provisions requiring the Trustee to have a certain some of non-perishable food and salt on hand
2. provisions designed to better insulate the Trust assets from rising interest rates and a Treasury Bond Bubble Implosion
3. provisions requiring the trustee to purchase necessaries in case of an economic collapse
4. provisions requiring the trustee to educate and instruct the beneficiaries on independence, self reliance and preparedness (maybe even requiring the beneficiary to obtain a classical education that includes learning history, chemistry, biology, anthropology, mythology, philosophy, legal jurisprudence, constitutional law and how to reason on an advanced level)
5. provisions requiring the beneficiary to learn how to shoot, fish, hunt, farm, or prepare their own food.
6. provisions for home schooling children
7. distribution provisions deigned to promote and influence positive conduct
8. distribution provisions designed to inhibit negative conduct
Ultimately, unless it is illegal or against public policy, clients can have almost any provisions inserted into their trust plan. They can tweak it anyway they like. That begs the question, than why are clients sold cookie-cutter one size fits all documents?