The Ohio Management Modernization Act, which became effective on March 27, 2013, now allows Ohioans to put assets in a trust (of which they are a beneficiary) and protect those assets from creditors. This newly permitted trust is called an Ohio Legacy Trust.
An Ohio Legacy Trust must be irrevocable and the settlor (the person
Ohio Revised Code §5816.03 (C) provides that certain creditors can defeat the spendthrift provisions of an Ohio Legacy Trust. This includes claims for child support and alimony. But the applicable provisions of the Ohio statute only apply to a “spouse or former spouse.”
This means that if an Ohio Legacy Trust is formed before you
Ohio Revised Code §5816.06 requires an affidavit of solvency each time you transfer assets to an Ohio Legacy Trust. This is a fairly standard provision for transfers to Domestic Asset Protection Trusts in other states as well. In Ohio, failure to timely file such an affidavit may be used as a basis for an action
Asset protection planning (and estate planning) frequently involves the use of one or more trusts. Possibilities include an offshore trust, Domestic Asset Protection Trust, irrevocable life insurance trust and various other kinds of trusts.
Most of these trusts are designed to last for many years. It is therefore important to give the trustee the flexibility to adjust
Here are some of the people who should at least consider setting up an Ohio Legacy Trust:
The following chart (prepared by my partner, Paul Fidler) provides some general
The link below provides some general information about Ohio legacy trusts. The material is from a presentation given by my firm on March 26, 2013 (the day before the Ohio Legacy Trust Statute took effect).
www.ssrl.com/attachments/download/106/Ohio%20Asset%20Management%20Modernization%20Act.pdf
This new kind of trust is not for everyone. But for some Ohio residents, it could be a valuable way to
