Spouse Provisions in Bloodline Trusts
What is it?
While bloodline trusts protect assets for blood relatives, well-drafted trusts can still provide for beneficiaries' spouses during the marriage without granting them permanent rights. The trustee may make discretionary distributions for a spouse's benefit (like paying for a family vacation or contributing to household expenses), but the spouse has no enforceable right to demand distributions.
Why is it important?
This "permissive but not mandatory" approach protects your children's inheritance while allowing normal family life. If your child divorces, the ex-spouse has no claim because they were never a named beneficiary with rights—only a permitted recipient of discretionary distributions. The key distinction: beneficiaries have rights; spouses get privileges at the trustee's discretion.
Example Language
The Trustee MAY, but is not required to, make distributions for the benefit of a beneficiary's spouse or household, but only during the marriage and only when the Trustee determines such distribution serves the best interests of the beneficiary. No spouse shall have any enforceable right to receive distributions, and any such distributions shall cease upon divorce or separation.