We have had a number of clients who fit the following profile: They are married for a second time, each with children from a previous marriage. One of them has substantially more than the other. Let's assume for discussion purposes that the husband is the one with more than the wife. The husband wants to ensure that, should he die first, the wife has enough income to live comfortably for the rest of her life. However, he does not want to leave assets to her outright, as he wants to make sure that his children will ultimately inherit.

One option is for the husband to leave some or all of his estate to a trust for his wife's benefit. Such a trust typically provides that she gets all the income generated by the assets placed in trust, to give her a stream of income which is adequate to maintain her standard of living. The trust may provide, in addition, that should the trust income and her own income be inadequate, the wife can receive amounts of principal which are needed for this purpose.

Who should be the trustee of this trust? One option is for the husband to name one or more of his children as trustees. If his estate is substantial, it is possible to have a bank serve as trustee. Or, if the husband trusts the wife to be a responsible trustee and to abide by the rules of the trust, he can name her to be the trustee, with one or more of his children to become the successor trustee if she becomes incapacitated.

This arrangement may be coupled with giving the wife a life estate in any real estate which he owns separately, such as a primary home or a cottage.