Greetings fellow Bogleheads! I’ve been reading these posts for a while but this is my first post.
My wife and I currently reside in NY and have recently created two separate revocable living trusts. We are both trustees and beneficiaries on eachother's trusts. We have a taxable brokerage account at Vanguard worth 7 figures. This brokerage account has a mix of individual equities, MF’s, ETF’s, T-bills, money markets, etc. Some of the stocks and MF’s have large unrealized capital gains. Setting up the trusts with Vanguard is a two-step process. I have already created the Vanguard trust accounts and now I need to fund them with the taxable brokerage account. My question is:
Are there any advantages or pitfalls to funding these two trusts unequally rather than splitting the brokerage account 50/50?
This would result in two trust brokerage accounts, with one (mine) being of larger value. In my case, I perceive several advantages to funding unequally:
1. It’s easier to make trades. If I fund each account with 100% of a stock or MF then it’s one instead of multiple transactions.
2. For some equities, non-covered share info is missing. According to Vanguard, I also need to finalize cost basis reporting method prior to transferring assets to the trusts.
3. If I place the most appreciated assets in my trust (rather than spouse’s) And I pass away first, do my wife and children reap the advantage of a stepped-up basis on those assets?
I appreciate your input.
My wife and I currently reside in NY and have recently created two separate revocable living trusts. We are both trustees and beneficiaries on eachother's trusts. We have a taxable brokerage account at Vanguard worth 7 figures. This brokerage account has a mix of individual equities, MF’s, ETF’s, T-bills, money markets, etc. Some of the stocks and MF’s have large unrealized capital gains. Setting up the trusts with Vanguard is a two-step process. I have already created the Vanguard trust accounts and now I need to fund them with the taxable brokerage account. My question is:
Are there any advantages or pitfalls to funding these two trusts unequally rather than splitting the brokerage account 50/50?
This would result in two trust brokerage accounts, with one (mine) being of larger value. In my case, I perceive several advantages to funding unequally:
1. It’s easier to make trades. If I fund each account with 100% of a stock or MF then it’s one instead of multiple transactions.
2. For some equities, non-covered share info is missing. According to Vanguard, I also need to finalize cost basis reporting method prior to transferring assets to the trusts.
3. If I place the most appreciated assets in my trust (rather than spouse’s) And I pass away first, do my wife and children reap the advantage of a stepped-up basis on those assets?
I appreciate your input.
Statistics: Posted by AlanB — Wed Jun 26, 2024 4:31 pm — Replies 0 — Views 82