Q: I want my son to get an inheritance after I die, but I don’t want him to get it all at once. I’m afraid he would waste it instead of using it for necessities. How can I make sure he only gets a little bit at a time?

A: You need to create a trust and leave the inheritance to someone else who can hold the money for your son and give it to him in small amounts. The person who holds the money for your son is called a “trustee.”

One of the easiest ways to create a trust is by using some simple language in your last will and testament.

Consider the following example: “I leave all of the money in my checking account to John Doe, as trustee, for the benefit of my son. The trustee shall give the money to my son in equal monthly payments.”

In the example above, the trust is actually created with just the first sentence -- by giving the property to the trustee. But you need to give the trustee some guidance as to how the money can be spent. This is accomplished with the second sentence.

You can also set up a trust before you die. To do so, you need to create the guidelines for the trustee (the trust document) and transfer the property to the trustee while you are alive.

Using a trust is a great way to leave an inheritance to your son without giving it to him all at once. But you need to understand that a trust does require some “care and feeding.”

If the assets you give to the trustee are income-generating assets (such as a rental home or a bank account that earns interest), the trustee will need to file a tax return on behalf of the trust to report the income.

Let’s return to my earlier example. What would happen if the trustee made monthly payments to your son and it took ten years for your checking account to be reduced to zero? If the account earns interest, the trustee would have to prepare a tax return -- or pay someone else to do it -- for every year.

This illustrates a very important point. If you want to stretch your son’s inheritance over a long period of time, you need to make sure that the costs of operating the trust do not outweigh the benefit of having the trust. If you’re leaving your son a large amount of money, the cost of preparing tax returns may be a drop in the bucket. But if you’re leaving him a few thousand dollars, the cost may be relatively high.

Anytime you use a trust to stretch an inheritance over a long period of time you also need to consider the strain it will put on the trustee. It may not seem like much to ask the trustee to give your son a check every month. But what if your son is constantly asking the trustee to give him more money? What if he did that for ten years? Would the person you choose as a trustee be up to the task?

There are very good reasons to give a child an inheritance over time, rather than giving it to them in one lump sum. But you need to understand that when you place a restriction on how the trustee can spend the money, at the very least you create more work for the trustee. You may also be creating an expense for the trust (like having to pay someone to prepare tax returns).

Know when to say when. If you create a trust, include only the restrictions that are necessary to help you achieve your goal.

Disclaimer: The discussion in this column may or may not match your individual situation. Be careful not to treat this column as specific legal advice, as it may not meet your individual needs. It may give you a solid basis for discussion with your own attorney. You should consult with your personal attorney before you take any action on this or any legal issue. Also, please be aware that laws change, so this column is valid only as of the date it was published. This communication does not create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader.