There are significant non-tax benefits to the typical Descendant's Trust, such as:

• Creditor protection. The trust assets will not be subject to claims of the beneficiary's creditors, so that a large judgment obtained in a lawsuit against the beneficiary will not result in the beneficiary losing the benefits of the inherited assets (to the extent they are still held in the trust).
• Divorce protection. If the beneficiary is married, assets retained in the trust will be trust property, not marital property. Therefore, the trust assets are generally beyond the reach of Texas divorce courts.
• Control. If there are concerns that a particular beneficiary might disinherit his/her own children, that beneficiary's trust can be drafted without a testamentary power of appointment, or the power of appointment can be limited in scope, thus ensuring that, upon the beneficiary's death, the assets remaining in the beneficiary's trust will be distributed to his/her children.
• Management assistance. If a particular beneficiary is not sufficiently skilled (or inclined) to manage his/her trust, that beneficiary's trust can be drafted without giving the beneficiary the power to become the trustee of his/her own trust, thus ensuring that the trust will be managed by a professional (or otherwise qualified) trustee.
• Guardianship avoidance. If a beneficiary becomes incapacitated, the successor trustee of the beneficiary's trust can manage the trust and provide for the beneficiary's needs. Additionally, the assets held in the beneficiary's trust would not be subject to a court-supervised guardianship of the beneficiary's estate.