<prompt> Human: I have a question for the more financially savvy types.Ive recently accepted a job that pays very well, and has a defined 401k contribution. I voluntarily contribute to the 401k on top of that. So, I end up saving 55k up to about 75k a year for the next 25-30 years. I like my job, so earlier retirement isnt what Im after. My retirement number in todays dollars is 2M. This would have me overshooting my retirement needs by about 5M, with about 4M of that in tax-deferred accounts.Well, Im not just going to just spend more money just to spend it...so I want it to be generational wealth, and Im thinking of trying to channel it into a trust that my descendants can draw from for major life events like a house downpayment, weddings, medical bills, their own kids college, starting a business, and so forth. The point being that its a source of capital, not a living stipend.I understand the point of a trust is to shelter 5-10M from estate taxes, but I want to be able to transfer my funds to some sort of structure that allows an appointed trustee to run it, validate requests, and distribute funds. I also want it separate and standalone from my own personal funds, so that it belongs to everyone, not just me.Of course, I would discuss the finer points with a lawyerCFP, but before that I just wanted to get some feedback from others. Does a living trust fit what I want, or is there another way to do this?  <response>: I dont have any info on the trust question, but would caution you against setting up a family piggy-bank like this. In comments you mention that your decedents wouldnt be getting a blank check, but you would give them the 20 for a down payment, for instance. To me, that could be a recipe for disaster. First, they know ahead of time they have access to a lump sum for their house, so they have less incentive to save ahead of time: youre already modifying their financial behavior.Second, that 20 lump sum will grease their path into a house thats more than they can really afford, so they end up in a nice neighborhood where they have to buy nice things to keep up with the Joness. They will need a new car, maybe, and come back to the piggy bank for the down payment of that too. Before long their mortgagecar paymentsboat payments okay, the boat is a bit hyperbole, but if they didnt have to save money for their down payment or to buy a car then what ARE they spending it on?, and their expenses are now slightlythan their net income. Its okay though, theyve never really had to worry about money because theyve always known grampa md8716 is going to help out with any major expense they have if its legitimate.All of this is OK to some degree, but lets call it what it is: economic outpatient care. Youre enabling them to not be clever with money in the future because you are now, and theyll get by just fine like that, but 2-3 generations down that is going to end very badly. I mean, it might not, but if youre going to set up this piggy-bank and tell them about it just watch out for this tendency. Plenty of dynasties do it right and make the new generations pull their weight, but its easy to just sort of let things decay when you start subsidizing their lives.Maybe the answer would be to, when they need that down payment, make them drum up a sort of business plan to prove they could afford the mortgage, or maybe tell them youll match their down payment contribution, forcing them to save half of it, and as a house-warming gift give them the whole thing that way their decision is kept honest. You sound like a smart guy, you will figure it out, but wanted to give my 2 creds. 