Good trust planning can prevent bad situations from arising such as the Buzz Aldrin dementia revocable trust problem that the family is now dealing with.
Buzz Aldrin, the 88-year-old astronaut who took part in the historic Apollo 11 moon-landing mission in 1969, is in the midst of a complicated legal battle with his family.
Aldrin claims that two of his children and his former manager are financially exploiting him by mismanaging his assets, preventing him from marrying and improperly allocating funds from his charitable organization, The Buzz Aldrin Space Foundation.
Meanwhile, his children have asked a Florida state court to appoint them as co-guardians, claiming that Aldrin has dementia and is vulnerable to manipulation. Check out our Elder Law articles to learn more about trust issues surrounding elder abuse.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Aldrin has a revocable trust with his son Andrew named as trustee.
Expert estate planning attorney Gary Altman, underscores the importance of due diligence and advanced estate planning. Gary tells MarketWatch, “Picking that person who should act for ‘me’ is the most difficult decision anyone can make. And the hardest point in anyone’s life is that period between full competency and full incompetency.”
While a revocable trust allows the benefactor to change or revoke responsibilities of a trustee, Aldrin’s trust contains a provision that says that his son, Andrew, must give written permission before any changes can be made.
Altman says that Aldrin made that revocable trust with the provision of having his son’s written permission for a reason, though it’s not clear what that reason was. Altman believes that the son’s behavior is either the result of being greedy or trying to protect his father from himself which is sometimes the case. Altman reminds readers, “There is no perfect answer.”
Altman & Associates assists Maryland, D.C. and Virginial individuals, families and businesses with all aspects of estate planning, including trust formation, trust administration and third-party trustee services. To discuss how we can assist you, contact us to schedule a consultation.
