Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Trust

What Is a Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Trust?

A qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) enables the grantor to provide for a surviving spouse and maintain control of how the trust's assets are distributed once the surviving spouse dies. Income, and sometimes principal, generated from the trust is given to the surviving spouse to ensure that the spouse is taken care of for the rest of their life.

How Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trusts Work

This type of irrevocable trust is commonly used by individuals who have children from another marriage. QTIPs enable the grantor to look after a current spouse and make sure that the assets from the trust are then passed on to beneficiaries of their choice, such as the children from the grantor's first marriage.

Aside from providing the living spouse with a source of funds, a QTIP can also help limit applicable death and gift taxes. Additionally, it can assert control over how the funds are handled should the surviving spouse die, as the spouse never assumes the power of appointment over the principal. This can prevent these assets from transferring to the living spouse’s new spouse, should she remarry.

The property within the QTIP providing funds to a surviving spouse qualifies for marital deductions, meaning the value of the trust is not taxable after the first spouse’s death. Instead, the property becomes taxable after the second spouse's death, with liability transferring to the named beneficiaries of the assets within the trust.

QTIP trusts are reported on one's tax returns using Form 706.

Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trustee Appointments

A minimum of one trustee must be appointed to manage the trust, though multiple individuals or organizations may be named simultaneously. The trustee or trustees will be responsible for controlling the trust and will also have authority over how its assets are managed. Examples of possible trustees include, but are not limited to, the surviving spouse, a financial institution, an attorney, and other family members or friends.

In a marital gift trust, the estate is split in two, with one section put in a trust fund and the second given directly to the surviving spouse; just like with a QTIP, there is no estate tax charged against either share, but unlike with a QTIP, the surviving spouse can typically appoint beneficiaries of the trust following their death.

Spousal Payments and QTIPs

The surviving spouse named within a QTIP receives payments from the trust based on the income the trust generates, similar to the issuance of stock dividends. As the surviving spouse is never the true owner of the property, a lien cannot be put against the property within the trust or the trust itself. Payments will be made to the spouse for the rest of their life. Upon death, the payments cease, as they are not transferable to another person. The assets in the trust then become the property of the listed beneficiaries.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should a QTIP trust be used?

QTIP trusts are used in estate planning when beneficiaries exist from a previous marriage but the grantor dies before a subsequent spouse does.

Is a QTIP trust revocable or irrevocable?

QTIP trusts are always irrevocable. This means that they are entrusted to a trustee and cannot be easily modified.

What is the difference between a QTIP and a marital trust?

Both types of trust can help one achieve similar estate planning goals. A QTIP offers greater direction of trust funds, but a marital trust has more flexibility as this type of trust does not require the surviving spouse to take annual distributions. The surviving spouse of a marital gift trust can also appoint new beneficiaries following the death of the original grantor.

Who pays estate tax with a QTIP trust?

With a QTIP, estate tax is not assessed when the first spouse's death, It is instead levied only after the second spouse has passed away.

What is the QTIP election?

The QTIP election is how a QTIP is created, and uses a tax return. To make the election, the executor lists, on a schedule attached to the estate tax return, the assets that are to go into the QTIP trust.