Quick answer: A dynasty trust is a long-duration irrevocable trust designed to hold wealth for children, grandchildren, and beyond — free of estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax at each generation, and protected from beneficiaries' creditors and divorces.
Key Points
You fund the trust using your lifetime gift and GST exemption.
An independent trustee in a friendly situs administers distributions under broad standards, often with a trust protector who can adapt the trust to future law and family changes.
Drafting a dynasty trust under New York or New Jersey law, where the rule against perpetuities or trust income tax undermines the structure.
Failing to allocate GST exemption properly at funding, causing the trust to lose GST-exempt status at the first skip.
Naming a beneficiary as trustee with broad discretion, exposing the trust to inclusion in that beneficiary's estate.
New York: NY has a 21-year rule against perpetuities and aggressive resident trust income taxation.
New Jersey: similar story — situs elsewhere to avoid NJ trust income tax on accumulated income.
Ohio: a strong dynasty trust situs in its own right — perpetual duration is permitted and the Ohio Legacy Trust Act adds asset protection.
We design dynasty trusts with the right situs, trustee structure, and protector framework — and coordinate funding with GST allocation on your gift tax return.
Frequently Asked
It depends on situs.
Yes — through trustee distributions.
All dynasty trusts use GST planning, but not every GST-exempt trust is structured for perpetual or multi-generational duration.
Trust protector and decanting provisions let us adapt the trust to future law without re-creating it.
Next Step
Fixed-fee estate planning for clients in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio.
Drew Jacobs is licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice or an offer to represent you in a jurisdiction in which we are not licensed.