Davison, MI asked in Estate Planning for Michigan

Q: I want to get a trust.My son is behind on child support, if I have my sister be the executor can child support take it

The mother is a drug addict and she would blow anything she got on herself.

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2 Lawyer Answers
Robert P. Taylor
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Answered

A: In general, child support can reach anything your son is entitled to. If I understand what you're trying to accomplish, what you need is to set up some sort of trust where your sister has discretion as to when and how much she gives your son. You'll need a good estate planning lawyer to set this up. It will be a significant amount of work for your sister to maintain and could create problems between your sister and your son, if she is not giving him what he wants when he wants it.

Kenneth V Zichi agrees with this answer

Kenneth V Zichi
Kenneth V Zichi
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Fowlerville, MI
  • Licensed in Michigan

A: Mr Taylor is right, and further, if the mother and the local friend of the court are sophisticated enough, they can 'attach' any distributions from the trust making it less than useful in the first place.

The SOLUTION probably lies in the domestic courts here, and the longer your son waits, the worse things will get. He should be investigating whether or not it makes sense to go back to the court that ordered support and have that order modified. Doing an 'end run' may FEEL like a solution, but the better option is to go to the heart of the issue. If the support is being abused, and the children are not being cared for properly, get the custody/support changed!

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