What kind of trust clause ensures that beneficiaries cannot access their interests until certain conditions are met?

A spendthrift clause is specifically designed to protect a beneficiary's interest in a trust by restricting their ability to access that interest until certain conditions are fulfilled. This type of clause serves to prevent beneficiaries from prematurely or irresponsibly accessing their inheritance, which can be particularly important if they are minors, have substance abuse issues, or lack financial management skills. By including a spendthrift provision, the trust creator effectively safeguards the assets from the beneficiaries’ creditors, ensuring that the trust assets will be used for their intended purposes over time.

Other trust clauses serve different functions. A revocable trust clause allows the grantor to modify or dissolve the trust during their lifetime, which does not impose any restrictions on when beneficiaries can access their interests. A discretionary clause gives the trustee the authority to decide when and how much money or assets to distribute to beneficiaries, but it doesn’t impose stringent conditions for access to the trust interests as a spendthrift provision would. Lastly, a resulting trust clause comes into play when the intended purpose of a trust fails, allowing the assets to revert to the original grantor or their heirs, rather than limiting beneficiaries' access to their interests.