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PERSONAL

WENDY R. LAMPERT

D

Often one hears the expression:
"Where ore oll the nice girls."
I wish to introduce an attractive, discerning, intelligent
single lady to a Jewish gentleman about 35, a successful
individual with a positive outlook. The lady is a con-
siderate, mild mannered, giving person. An articulate pro-
fessional, about 30, of medium height, slender, with a
good sense of humor. A non-smoking homemaker. The
gentleman should possess like qualities as well as good
appearance and character. Because the lady is not aware
of this advertisement, a discreet introduction will be ar-
ranged. Replies both from a gentleman or from a friend
or member of his family will be treated in total confidence.
Address: Box 2534, The Jewish News, 20300 Civic Center
Dr., Suite 240, Southfield, MI 48076

'Lease pymt. based on approved credit on 48 mos. closed end, 72,000 total
mileage w/6C per mile extra charge. To get total amt. multiply pymt. times 48.
Subject to 4% use tax, 1st mo. in advance, sec. dept. equal to 1st mo. pymt.,
plate cost extra.

42355 GRAND RIVER

Just East of Novi Rd.. Novi

12 OAKS MALL

$4.1

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FRIDAY, OCT. 2, 1987

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348-7000

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HOURS
Mon. & Thu.
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Tu.. Wed., Fri.
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Single Parent Trust
Helps Protect Assets

ivorce clients often
worry about who will
protect their assets or
who will provide for the
children if they should die.
Proper planning with the in-
dividualized single parent
trust avoids these financial
pitfalls.
During the course of divorce
proceedings and even after
the divorce has been finaliz-
ed, necessary planning has by
and large remained unad-
dressed even though the
attorney-client contacts are
most frequent at that time. It
is at that time that many
single parents receive a pro-
perty settlement of substan-
tial value, often including a
house, car, cash, stocks or
bonds, pension funds and
other valuable property, and
careful planning is essential.
The following scenario is an
example of a case high-
lighting the problems of
single parents who do not ob-
tain proper planning.
A young single mother has
died in an automobile acci-
dent. Prior to her death, she
had been involved in a bitter
divorce which lasted over 1 1/2
years.
The results of the divorce
were favorable; she received
physical custody and joint
legal custody of the minor
children of the parties and a
fairly large . portion of the
marital prperty of which her
share was valued at about
$300,000. In addition, she
was receiving child support,
alimony and a promise to pro-
vide a $10,000 lump sum pay-
ment to each of the children
on their 18th birthdays.
The reason for the divorce
was due to the fact that the
spouse was a habitual
gambler and even though he
owned his own business,
worked long hours and earn-
ed large sums of money, as
fast as he earned money, he
would gamble it away.
When the mother died, her
ex-spouse became the
custodial parent of the
children and gained control
as conservator of the
children's share of their
deceased mother's assets. The
house was immediately plac-
ed on the market and the
available cash was being
dissipated as efficiently as his
own cash.
Although there is accoun-
tability to the court by way of

Wendy R. Lampert is an attorney
with offices in Birmingham.

an annual account that must
be filed by the conservator,
complete management and
how the funds are to be used
for the children's benefits are
discretionary with the conser-
vator. Often the "use and
benefit" for the children gets
confused with the use and
benefit of the ex-spouse and
the children's assets end up
paying for their father's
necessities of life.
Because the children need a
place to live, a portion of the
rent or mortgage payment
can be taken from their assets
to meet this obligation. The
same is true with payments
for automobile transporta-
tion, food, medical insurance,
taxes and the other liabilities
that the ex-spouse wold be
paying in any event. The ap-
portioning of the amount is
left to the judgment of the
father.
The remedy, without proper
planning, is by and large in-
adequate and expensive. It
usually requires another
court action between the
children and their father to
have him removed as the con-
servator. As a practical mat-
ter, by the time children are
old enough to realize what
has happened to their in-
heritance, it may be too late.
This tragic result and many
others like it can be entirely
avoided if the single parent
places the assets in a single
parent trust while he or she
is still alive. The trust can
provide that the single parent
may act as his/her own
trustee and also names a suc-
cessor trustee, a person of
his/her own choosing, to
manage and distribute the
assets upon his/her death.
The trust document
specifies who is to act as suc-
cessor trustee and when and
how assets are to be
distributed to beneficiaries.
The single parent can have
their trust individualized to
outline all the conditions and
provides the specific instruc-
tions needed. Thus, the single
parent has the peace of mind
knowing that they have total
control of their assets and
that their children's
livelihood and inheritance
will be protected even in the
event of untimely death. The
ex-spouse may have custody
but no control of the assets.
Other advantages of the
single parent trust are:
• It avoids state inheritance
taxes in Michigan because
the assets placed in the trust
are not subject to probate.
• A will must be settled in
Probate Court. These pro-