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Irrevocable Generation Skipping Trust Agreement

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Irrevocable Generation Skipping (Dynasty) Trust Agreement For Benefit of Trustor's Children and Grandchildren

This trust agreement is made on

between (Grantor) and who resides at

the Grantor, and (Trustee) located at

The Grantor, in consideration of the agreements and undertakings set forth below made and assumed by the Trustee, and other valuable consideration, does assign, convey, and set over to the Trustee and the Trustee's successors the property listed and described in Schedule A, which is attached and incorporated herein by reference. The Trustee is authorized to and agrees that it will receive and hold that property and such additional property as may be transferred, assigned, or bequeathed to the Trustee from time to time by any person or organization, to become a part of the principal of the trust created by this Agreement, and all investments and reinvestments of the same and income for the uses and trusts set forth below.

1. Initial Distribution

The Trustee shall promptly distribute from the principal of the trust estate to each of Grantor's grandchildren who shall then be living, subject to postponement of possession as provided below.

2. Division into Trusts For Children

After making or providing for the foregoing distributions, the Trustee shall promptly divide the trust estate into equal trusts to provide one trust for each child of the Grantor who is either then living or then deceased, leaving one or more descendants then living. Each trust shall be held and disposed of as provided below.

3. Children’s Trusts

If a child survives the Grantor, then commencing with the death of the Grantor the Trustee shall pay the income from his or her trust in convenient installments, at least quarterly, to the child during his or her lifetime. The Trustee may also pay to the child such sums from the principal of his or her trust as the Trustee deems necessary or advisable from time to time for his or her health and maintenance in reasonable comfort, considering his or her income from all sources known to the Trustee.

4. Division into Shares for Grandchildren

On the death of a child or on the death of the Grantor if the child is not then living, the Trustee shall divide the child's trust into equal shares to create one share for each then living child of the child (referred to as a grandchild) and one share for the then living descendants, collectively, of each deceased child of the child (referred to as a deceased grandchild), or if there is no descendant of the child living at his or her death, the Trustee shall distribute the child's trust per stirpes to the then living descendants of the Grantor, subject to postponement of possession as provided below, except that each portion otherwise distributable for whom a share of the trust estate is then held under this Agreement shall be added to that share. Each share created for the descendants of a deceased grandchild shall be distributed per stirpes to such descendants, subject to postponement of possession as provided below. Each share created for a living grandchild shall be held as a separate trust and disposed of as provided below.

5. Trust of Grandchildren

The income from a grandchild's share shall be paid in convenient installments, at least quarterly, to the grandchild until complete distribution of the share or his or her prior death. The Trustee may also pay to the grandchild such sums from the principal of his or her share as the Trustee deems necessary or advisable from time to time for his or her health, maintenance in reasonable comfort, education (including postgraduate education), and best interests, considering the income of the grandchild from all sources known to the Trustee.

6. Right of Withdrawal

After creation of a grandchild's share and after the grandchild has reached the age of years, he or she may withdraw any part or all of his or her share at any time or times. The Trustee shall make payment without question on the grandchild's written request. The right of withdrawal shall be a privilege which may be exercised only voluntarily and shall not include an involuntary exercise.

7. Power of Appointment

If a grandchild dies before receiving his or her share in full, then on the grandchild's death the principal and any accrued and undistributed income of his or her share shall be held in trust or distributed to or in trust for such appointee or appointees (including the estate of the grandchild), with such powers and in such manner and proportions as the grandchild may appoint by his or her will making specific reference to this power of appointment.

8. Distribution to Descendants

On the death of a grandchild any part of the principal and accrued and undistributed income of his or her share not effectively appointed shall be distributed per stirpes to his or her then living descendants, or if none, then per stirpes to the then living descendants of the grandchild's parent who was a child of the Grantor, or if also none, then per stirpes to Grantor's then living descendants, subject to postponement of possession as provided below, except that each portion otherwise distributable to a descendant for whom a share of the trust estate is then held shall be added to that share.

9. Distributions to Minors

Each share of the trust estate which is distributable to a descendant who has not reached the age of years shall immediately vest in the descendant, but the Trustee shall (a) establish a custodianship for the descendant under a Uniform Transfers (or Gifts) to Minors Act, or (b) retain possession of the share as a separate trust until the descendant reaches the age of years, meanwhile paying to or for the benefit of the descendant so much or all of the income and principal of the share as the Trustee deems necessary or advisable from time to time for his or her health, maintenance in reasonable comfort, education (including postgraduate), and best interests, and adding to principal any income not so paid.

10. Payments to Minors or Incompetents

If income or discretionary amounts of principal become payable to a minor or to a person under legal disability or to a person not adjudicated incompetent but who, by reason of illness or mental or physical disability, is in the opinion of the Trustee unable properly to manage his or her affairs, then such income or principal shall be paid or expended only in such of the following ways as the Trustee deems best:

(a) to the beneficiary directly;

(b) to the legally appointed guardian or conservator of the beneficiary;

(c) to a custodian for the beneficiary under a Uniform Transfers (or Gifts) to Minors Act;

(d) by the Trustee directly for the benefit of the beneficiary;

(e) to an adult relative or friend in reimbursement for amounts properly advanced for the benefit of the beneficiary.

11. Spendthrift Provisions

The interests of beneficiaries in principal or income shall not be subject to the claims of any creditor, any spouse for alimony or support, or others, or to legal process, and may not be voluntarily or involuntarily alienated or encumbered. This provision shall not limit the exercise of any power of appointment.

12. Accrued and Undistributed Income

Income received after the last income payment date and undistributed at the termination of any estate or interest shall, together with any accrued income, be paid by the Trustee as income to the persons entitled to the next successive interest in the proportions in which they take that interest.

13. Common Fund and Merger of Trusts

For convenience of administration or investment, the Trustee may hold the several trusts as a common fund, dividing the income proportionately among them, assign undivided interests to the several trusts, and make joint investments of the funds belonging to them. The Trustee may consolidate any separate trust with any other trust with similar provisions for the same beneficiary or beneficiaries.

14. Powers of Trustee

A. The Trustee may retain any property (including stock of any corporate Trustee under this Agreement or of a parent or affiliate company) originally constituting the trust or subsequently added to it, although not of a type, quality, or diversification considered proper for trust investments.

B. The Trustee shall have power to invest and reinvest the trust property in bonds, stocks, notes, or other property, real or personal, suitable for the investment of trust funds; to register property in the name of a nominee without restriction; to vote in person or by general or limited proxy, or refrain from voting, any corporate securities for any purpose, except that any security as to which the Trustee's possession of voting discretion would subject the issuing company or the Trustee to any law, rule, or regulation adversely affecting either the company or the Trustee's ability to retain or vote company securities, shall be voted as directed by the Grantor if living, otherwise by the beneficiaries then entitled to receive or have the benefit of the income from the trust; to lease (for any period of time though commencing in the future or extending beyond the term of the trust), sell, exchange, mortgage, or pledge any or all of the trust property as the Trustee deems proper; to borrow from any lender, including a Trustee individually; to employ agents, attorneys and proxies; to compromise, contest, prosecute or abandon claims; to divide or distribute in cash or in kind, or partly in each, or in undivided interests or in different assets or disproportionate interests in assets, to value the trust property for such purposes, and to sell any property in order to make division or distribution; and to deal with, purchase assets from, or make loans to, the fiduciary of any trust made by the Grantor or any member of the Grantor's family or a trust or estate in which any beneficiary under this Agreement has an interest, though a Trustee under this Agreement is such a fiduciary.

C. The Trustee is authorized to establish out of income and credit to principal reasonable reserves for depreciation, obsolescence and depletion.

D. The Trustee may transfer the situs of any trust property to any other jurisdiction as often as the Trustee deems it advantageous to the trust, appointing a substitute Trustee to itself to act with respect to it. In connection with that the Trustee may delegate to the substitute Trustee any or all of the powers given to the Trustee, which may elect to act as advisor to the substitute Trustee and shall receive reasonable compensation for so acting. The Trustee may remove any acting substitute Trustee and appoint another, or reappoint itself, at will.

15. Annual Account and Compensation

The Trustee shall render an account of its receipts and disbursements at least annually to the Grantor if living, otherwise to each adult income beneficiary. The Trustee shall be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses incurred in the management and protection of the trust and shall receive fair compensation for its services. The Trustee's regular compensation shall be charged against income during the Grantor's lifetime and subsequently half against income and half against principal, except that the Trustee shall have full discretion at any time or times to charge a larger portion or all against income without being limited to circumstances specified by state law.

16. Discretionary Termination

If at any time a trust under this Agreement has a market value as determined by the Trustee of or less, the Trustee may in its discretion terminate the trust and distribute the trust property proportionately to the persons then entitled to receive or have the benefit of the income from that trust.

17. Rule Against Perpetuities

No trust created by this Agreement, or by the exercise of a power of appointment, shall continue for more than years after the death of the last to die of the Grantor and the beneficiaries in being at the death of the Grantor. Any property still held in trust at the expiration of that period shall immediately be distributed to the persons then entitled to receive or have the benefit of the income from that trust in the proportions in which they are entitled, or if their interests are indefinite, then in equal shares.

18. Trustee Provisions

A. Any Trustee may resign at any time by written notice to the Grantor if living, otherwise to each beneficiary then entitled to receive or have the benefit of the income from the trust. In case of the resignation, refusal, or inability to act of any Trustee, the Grantor if living, otherwise the beneficiary or a majority in interest of the beneficiaries then entitled to receive or have the benefit of the income from the trust, may appoint a successor Trustee.

B. Every successor Trustee shall have all the powers given the originally named Trustee. No successor Trustee shall be personally liable for any act or omission of any predecessor. With the approval of the Grantor if living, otherwise of the beneficiary or a majority in interest of the beneficiaries then entitled to receive or have the benefit of the income from the trust, a successor Trustee may accept the account rendered and the property received as a full and complete discharge to the predecessor Trustee without incurring any liability for so doing.

C. The parent, guardian, or conservator of a beneficiary under disability shall receive notice and have authority to act for the beneficiary under this Section.

D. No Trustee wherever acting shall be required to give bond or surety or be appointed by or account for the administration of any trust to any court.

19. Exercise of Power of Appointment

In disposing of any trust property subject to a power to appoint by will, the Trustee may rely on an instrument admitted to probate in any jurisdiction as the will of the donee or may assume that he or she died intestate if the Trustee has no notice of a will within months after his or her death.

20. Generation-Skipping Taxes

A. If the Trustee considers that any distribution from a trust under this Agreement other than pursuant to a power to withdraw or appoint is a taxable distribution subject to a generation-skipping tax payable by the distributee, the Trustee shall augment the distribution by an amount which the Trustee estimates to be sufficient to pay the tax and shall charge the same against the trust to which the tax relates.

B. If the Trustee considers that any termination of an interest in or power over trust property is a taxable termination subject to a generation-skipping tax, the Trustee shall pay the tax from the trust property to which the tax relates, without adjustment of the relative interests of the beneficiaries. If the tax is imposed in part by reason of trust property and in part by reason of other property, the Trustee shall pay that portion which the value of the trust property bears to the total property taxed, taking into consideration deductions, exemptions, and other factors which the Trustee deems pertinent.

21. Governing Law

This Agreement and trust are specifically created as a agreement and trust and the construction, validity, and effect of this Agreement and the rights and duties of the beneficiaries and the Trustee shall at all times be governed exclusively by the laws of .

22. Counterparts

This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, any one of which shall constitute the agreement between the parties.

23. Construction

Unless the context requires otherwise, all words used in this instrument in the singular number shall extend to and include the plural. All words used in the plural number shall extend to and include the singular; and all words used in any gender shall extend to and include all genders.

24. No Bond or Surety

No Trustee under this Agreement shall be required to give or file any bond or other security or surety of any kind, nor shall any Trustee be personally liable except for willful malfeasance or bad faith.

The parties have executed this Agreement on the day and year first above written.

__________________________________________

Trustee

By:

__________________________________________

Grantor

(Acknowledgments before Notary Public)

(Attach schedule)

Enter text✕

What an Irrevocable Generation Skipping Trust Agreement Is

An Irrevocable Generation Skipping Trust Agreement (GST trust) is a legal instrument that transfers assets out of the grantor's estate into a trust that generally cannot be revoked or amended by the grantor. It is designed to benefit skip persons, usually grandchildren or later generations, and to use the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to minimize estate and gift taxes across multiple generations. Because the trust is irrevocable, funding, trustee selection, distribution standards and tax reporting must be handled carefully to achieve intended tax and asset-protection objectives.

Why a GST Trust Matters for Multi-Generation Planning

A GST trust creates a separate legal vehicle to pass wealth to grandchildren or later generations while protecting assets from the grantor's estate tax inclusion and from beneficiaries' creditors. It also allows the grantor to set distribution timing and conditions that span multiple generations under trust terms.

Why a GST Trust Matters for Multi-Generation Planning

Who Commonly Prepares an Irrevocable GST Trust

The trust is typically prepared by individuals with sizable estates seeking to preserve assets for descendants and limit transfer-tax exposure.

  • High-net-worth families seeking multigenerational planning and estate tax efficiency.
  • Estate planning attorneys drafting tax-conscious trust terms and distribution scaffolding.
  • Professional trustees and family offices managing long-term distributions and compliance.

Estate planning attorneys, trustees, and tax advisors coordinate to draft, fund, and administer the trust consistent with federal tax rules and state law.

Primary Parties and Their Roles

Grantor (Settlor)

The individual who funds and creates the irrevocable GST trust. The grantor transfers legal title of assets into the trust, surrenders ownership rights, and may allocate generation-skipping tax exemption; because the trust is irrevocable, the grantor generally cannot unilaterally revoke or modify trust terms without court approval or limited statutory mechanisms.

Trustee (Fiduciary)

The trustee manages trust assets, executes distributions per the trust instrument, files required tax returns for the trust, and acts in the best interests of beneficiaries. Trustees must follow fiduciary duties and document decisions to preserve tax benefits and defend against creditor or IRS challenges.

Core Components of a Professional GST Trust Agreement

A complete GST trust agreement combines tax language, fiduciary powers, distribution rules, successor provisions, and funding mechanics to operate across multiple generations while meeting regulatory and drafting standards.

Trust Identity

Official trust name, creation date, and declaration of irrevocability; this establishes the trust's legal existence and clarifies that the grantor has relinquished ownership.

Trustee Powers

Detailed trustee authorities for investment, distributions, tax elections, delegation, and trust administration to enable flexible, compliant asset management over long terms.

Beneficiary Classes

Clear identification of primary beneficiaries, skip persons, contingent classes, and per stirpes or per capita distribution methods to avoid ambiguity in multi-generation distributions.

GST Allocation

Specific language allocating generation-skipping transfer tax exemption and trustee powers to make applicable allocations or elections for tax reporting and audit defense.

Distribution Standards

Objective or discretionary distribution triggers and spendthrift or distribution-limiting provisions to protect assets and control timing across generations.

Termination and Trust Protector

End-of-trust provisions, decanting or modification mechanisms (if allowed), and roles for trust protectors or advisors to address unforeseen circumstances.

Step-by-Step: Preparing and Executing a GST Trust

Follow a sequence to draft, fund, and document the trust to preserve tax treatment and ensure enforceability.

  • 01
    Draft Terms: Engage counsel to write clear, tax-compliant provisions and GST allocation language.
  • 02
    Select Trustee: Name a qualified trustee and documented successor trustees to manage long-term administration.
  • 03
    Fund the Trust: Retitle assets or transfer accounts to the trust; incomplete funding can defeat objectives.
  • 04
    Execute Properly: Sign with required witnesses or notarization and retain original signed instrument in secure storage.

How to Configure an Online Completion Workflow

Set up an eSigning workflow that enforces signing order, required fields, and authentication to maintain legal and tax evidence.

Field Configuration
Template Create a reusable trust template with locked key clauses.
Conditional Clauses Enable conditional fields to surface optional GST allocation language.
Signature Order Set signing sequence: grantor, trustee, witnesses, notary if required.
Authentication Require email + SMS or stronger verification for high-assurance signing.

Digital Signing and Platform Capabilities

Choose a platform that supports secure audit trails, witness and notary workflows, and required authentication methods.

  • Audit Trail: Capture IP, timestamp, and actions.
  • Notary / RON: Support for remote notarization where permitted.
  • Integrations: Connectors for NetSuite, Google Workspace, Box.

Where to Send and File Documents After Execution

After signing, distribute executed copies to trustees, tax counsel, and custodians; record deeds only when real property transfers are involved.

  • Trustee Records: Deliver original signed trust to the trustee for safekeeping.
  • Tax Advisor: Provide copies to tax counsel for Form 709 and trust tax planning.
  • Asset Custodians: Send funding instructions to banks, brokers, or title companies.
  • County Recorder: Record deed transfers when real property is retitled to the trust.

Key Filing and Timing Considerations

Timing affects tax reporting and preservation of exemptions; track federal filing dates and any state-specific recording deadlines.

Gift Tax Return (Form 709):

Due April 15 following the calendar year of a taxable gift.

Trust Income Return (Form 1041):

Due April 15 for calendar-year trusts; extensions may apply.

Record Deeds:

Record county deeds promptly to show transfer timing and priority.

Funding Promptly:

Complete asset retitling soon after execution to avoid incomplete funding.

Document Retention:

Keep originals and signed copies for statutory retention periods.

Security and Compliance Considerations for Electronic Workflows

Encryption: TLS 1.2/1.3 and AES-256
Audit Trail: Detailed signing logs and timestamps
HIPAA Support: BAA available where required
Regulatory Standards: Supports ESIGN and UETA compliance
Certifications: SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001
21 CFR: Support for 21 CFR Part 11 workflows

Key Risks and Penalties of Incorrect Preparation

1099/Form 709 Penalties: $60–$330/form; IRC §6721
Incomplete Funding: May invalidate tax objectives
Improper Execution: State formalities can void trust
I-9/Employment Risk: Recordkeeping fines possible
Intentional Misreporting: $660+ per form, no cap
Trustee Liability: Breach exposures and surcharge risk

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Preparing a GST Trust

  • Failing to fund the trust promptly — leaving assets titled in the grantor's name can expose the estate to taxes.
  • Using ambiguous beneficiary language — vague classes or missing contingent provisions cause administration disputes.
  • Neglecting GST allocation language — omission or unclear elections can result in unintended tax consequences.
  • Skipping professional review — incomplete drafting or improper execution increases audit risk and administration costs.

eSignature Vendor Pricing Snapshot for Trust Execution Workflows

A concise comparison of starting prices and key feature considerations for commonly used eSignature providers, with signNow shown first in the vendor list.

signNow DocuSign Adobe Sign PandaDoc HelloSign
Starting Price $8/user/mo $15/user/mo $14/user/mo $19/user/mo $15/user/mo
Free Trial 7-day free trial Varies Varies Varies Varies
Bulk Send Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Audit Trail Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
HIPAA Compliant Yes Yes Yes No No

Frequently Asked Questions About Irrevocable GST Trusts

Answers to common practical and legal questions about drafting, funding, signing, and maintaining an irrevocable generation-skipping trust.


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