Dynasty Trust

Full legal name, date of birth, citizenship, and primary state of residence for each Settlor/Grantor establishing the trust.

Are any family members or potential beneficiaries citizens or residents of a foreign country, or do they hold dual citizenship?

Your immediate children and living descendants — add one row per person with their legal name and date of birth.

Do any of your children or grandchildren have physical, mental, or developmental disabilities requiring specialized or long-term medical care?

Are there any existing public assistance benefits (e.g. SSI, Medicaid) a beneficiary is receiving or might need to qualify for in the future?

Are there any family members or estranged descendants you explicitly wish to exclude from benefiting from this trust?

Do you have any prior marriages, prenuptial agreements, or divorce decrees that impose ongoing financial or estate planning obligations?

Because a South Dakota Dynasty Trust can legally last forever, what is your primary overarching vision for this wealth across the next 100+ years?

Do you view this trust primarily as a protective safety net, an educational funding vehicle, or a pool of capital to back family business startups? Select all that apply.

Are you concerned that substantial, unrestricted trust distributions will disincentivize future generations from pursuing personal careers or working?

Should we incorporate incentive clauses that bind distributions to productive behavior (e.g. matching W-2 income, higher education, remaining drug-free)?

How do you define education for future generations? Select all that should qualify.

Do you want to allocate a specific portion or percentage of trust distributions toward family philanthropic/charitable endeavors?

Should the trust subsidize broad 'family unity' experiences, such as an annual multigenerational family meeting, retreat, or educational travel?

Approximate total dollar value of the assets you intend to use to seed the trust during your lifetime.

What kinds of assets do you intend to transfer into the trust? Select all that apply.

Do any of the closely held business assets or LLCs you plan to transfer contain restrictions on transferability, buy-sell agreements, or rights of first refusal?

For any non-liquid assets or family business entities being transferred, will we need formal independent appraisals for gift tax valuation discounts?

Anticipating the 2026 sunset of the historically high federal gift tax exemption, what is the exact amount of your lifetime gift and GST tax exemption remaining?

Are you planning a major corporate transaction or liquidity event (e.g. selling a business or commercial real estate) in the near future?

If a liquidity event is planned, can we complete the transfer of ownership into the South Dakota trust prior to a letter of intent (LOI) being signed to maximize tax savings?

Do you want this trust structured as a Grantor Trust, where you personally pay the income taxes so the trust principal can grow unencumbered?

Alternatively, do you want a Non-Grantor Trust designed to shift the tax burden onto the trust itself as a separate taxpayer?

If structured as a Non-Grantor Trust, does your home state tax trusts based on the Settlor's residency, or can we escape state income tax via South Dakota's 0% rate?

Will the trust hold any shares of an S-Corporation? If yes, we must prepare ESBT or QSST provisions.

Do you currently have an established relationship with a South Dakota-permitted corporate trustee, or do you require a firm recommendation?

Whom do you want to appoint to the Investment Committee to direct the trustee on asset allocation?

Do you want your current, trusted wealth advisor or investment firm explicitly written into the trust document to manage the liquid portfolios?

If the trust holds a family operating business, should family members or key officers sit on a specialized Investment Committee to manage that business asset?

Who should serve on the Distribution Committee to make discretionary decisions on when and how much beneficiaries receive?

To preserve asset protection, do you agree the Distribution Committee should consist strictly of independent, non-beneficiary individuals?

Whom do you want to designate as the Trust Protector — the safety valve who can terminate the trustee, change jurisdictions, or modify terms if tax laws shift?

What should be the succession plan, minimum qualifications, and removal mechanisms for the Investment Committee, Distribution Committee, and Trust Protector roles?

Do you prefer a fully discretionary distribution standard managed by the committee, or fixed payouts (e.g. all net income paid annually to children)?

Are you aware that mandatory/fixed distributions can be seized by a beneficiary's future creditors, bankruptcy courts, or ex-spouses, unlike fully discretionary ones?

Are any of your children or expected beneficiaries in high-liability professions (medicine, real estate development, corporate executive roles) with distinct lawsuit risk?

Do you want to employ South Dakota's 'Quiet Trust' statutes to legally restrict the trustee from disclosing the trust's existence or assets to young beneficiaries?

If you utilize a Quiet Trust structure, at what specific milestone or age do you want the trustee to finally disclose the financial details to beneficiaries?

Is there any scenario where you, the Settlor, might require financial access to these assets in a catastrophic emergency?

If personal access is a concern, should we explore a hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT) structure preserving asset shields?

If the trust owns a family business or voting stock, should the trustee vote shares per the Investment Committee's direction, or should management retain independent voting control?

Do you want to grant the trust explicit authority to make intrafamily loans (e.g. low-interest down payment assistance) rather than outright taxable distributions?

Should a beneficiary be permitted to live in a trust-owned residence rent-free, and who's responsible for property taxes and maintenance?

Do you want to grant your children a Limited Power of Appointment, letting them alter how their share is distributed among their own children when they pass?

In the event of a future internal family dispute, do you want to mandate confidential, private binding arbitration to avoid public court battles?

Do you want the trust to utilize South Dakota's automatic court sealing laws for any judicial modifications, to preserve financial privacy?

How often do you want the corporate trustee to deliver formal trust accountings, statements, and asset valuations?

Should the trust document allow for 'decanting' (pouring over) assets into a brand-new trust down the road if South Dakota laws become even more favorable?

Do you want to permit the Trust Protector to change the governing law and situs away from South Dakota if another state introduces superior asset protection laws?

What is your definitive target deadline for finalizing the trust draft, executing the agreement with the South Dakota trustee, and fully transferring assets?