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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm just curious to learn more about the kind of people who have trust funds. I had never met any people like this until I moved to DC, got married, and started seeing these people at work and among DH's colleagues. So if you have a trust fund can you answer these questions:

1. What is your ethnic background? (WASP, Jewish, Asian, Hispanic, etc)
2. Did you come from "old money"? How many generations back does your family have wealth?
3. What is the size of your trust fund? If you're not willing to type a number, a range would be great.
4. At what age did you receive it?
5. When did you find out that you had a trust fund? When you were a kid? When you were in college?
6. What do you plan to do with it?

Thanks! Just curious. I'm from a solid middle-class family. I worked as a babysitter and a dog walker as a kid and teenager, mowed lawns for cash, saved up to help pay a portion for my new car, and went to a state university for the in-state tuition and scholarship money. So this is a world I know nothing about![/quote]

I'll bite. If you have a sizeable estate, setting up trusts and other accounts for your descendants helps to minimize the tax burden later. A trust can minimize the risk of your kids (or grandkids) from burning through the money recklessly. A trust can also protect assets from taxes to some extent.

1. WASP
2. father's side: 5 generations for his mom, 6 or 7 for his dad; my mom's parents were lower middle class children of immigrants.
3 & 4 & 5. Three "trust funds". One was actually a Uniform Gift to Minors Act account and not a true trust. That was probably around a million when I turned 21 and learned of its existence. My grandparents and parents maximize the annual tax-free gift. I am also a beneficiary and trustee of a generation skipping trust. That was valued at ~2.5m when I received it at age 41 (had to do with the tax laws that year, not my specific age). I am the beneficiary of another generation skipping trust. My share of that was also approximately 2.5m at that (same) time.
6. The UGMA account has provided a substantial down payment on our house, some memorable vacations, an addition to our house, and private school for DC. All on dividends, not principal. It is growing nicely and will allow us to retire earlier than otherwise. The generation skipping trusts are really for the benefit of my DC and any grandchildren I may have. The trust is written that it is to be used to maintain current lifestyle (so not for buying a Lear jet, unfortunately, or even a BMW) and education.

As a kid, I also babysat for spending money, had to live within my budget, etc.

4. [/quote]

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