<prompt> Human: I am a 40 year old woman who makes 80k a year. I bring home 1k a week. I have around 600K split between: life insurance 495 state pension 70 403B 50 My divorce will be final October 1st. My STBX likes things. New, shiny things. It was a main reason for our divorce. In 16 years we didnt have a dime in savings. In three paychecks Ive saved 1,000.Im worried that if I die while the children are minors he will be in control of their inheritance. Hes not a horrible man. I dont think anything would be malicious...But I know him. Hed buy a new car. And then a new motorcycle. He would take the girls to Disney... Twice... Hed take a cruise with his GF... Hed eat out with the girls twice a day at restaurants ... Its a small inheritance...Would a trust fund be an option for me? Maybe something that would give them lump sums at 25...30...35. What would the cost be to set it up? Is there a monthly fee? I dont trust anybody to oversee it. Could the banklawyer do that? Would it then become cost prohibitive?Thank you,Slutty_SquirrelEdit: changed 450k to 600k and gave dollar amounts to different categories Edit: my girls are 9 and 11Edit: Pennsylvania Assistant: You would be the perfect candidate for a Living Trust .. And since your entire world is quickly changing divorce - it would be a good time to sit down with a financial planner and have your personal estate put in order.Human: Its not much of an estate. Im just a teacher. Ive been just using the whole baby steps set up. I have my 1k emergency fund and should have no consumer debt left in the next three months. Then I have a horrendous car payment to knock out early. Assistant: I second this idea of a living trust. They dont really cost that much to set up and as you recover from your divorce you can add assets to the trust. Once you die, which I think is your concern, the trust can become an irrevocable trust with your children as beneficiaries. You dont say how old your children are now, but I assume not adults. While they are children, you can stipulate that the corpus of the trust is not to be distributed until a certain age. OR you can stipulate that the funds be used for only certain purposes, such as college tuition, medical care etc.A financial planner working in conjunction with an estate attorney is the best idea.Your life insurance can have a beneficiary designation changed to be a trust for your children as well. I believe that the 403b can also go into a trust, although there are some tax considerations that you need to consider.Once your children are adults you can change all of this to let them inherit the money directly, if you feel that they will not be influenced by their father or that they can handle the money and assets. If not, then a Spendthrift Trust is an option.Seriously consider getting help from a professional fiduciary planning team.Edit: Im reading challenged this morning you DID say your children are minors. Also adding that a third party trustee is not always that expensive either. The good thing about a living trust is that you can change it as your circumstances improve and change. Good luck.Human: Thank you so much for such a thorough response. You seem to understand my fears concerns perfectly. My girls are 9 and 11 now. Ive edited the main post to reflect that information.Assistant: My family had a trust and new will set up, deeds changed, and everything else that goes with it for 2,000. Its not THAT expensive in the scheme of things, though we did go with the best attorney in town for it. Human: Thats reasonable and something I could save for in a few months. Or earmark my tax return for. Thanks!  <response>: Can confirm 2000 is reasonable for estate docs with a living trust. My firm charges 2500 for a living trust and associated estate documents pour over will, POA, POA for healthcare, and living will. An alternate option, which is less robust but would likely accomplish your goals is a will with a testamentary trust. In that scenario, your will provides for a trust to be created if you die leaving minor children, and provides for the funds to be held in trust for the benefit of your children until they come of age. The will specifies the trustee, ages of the children for distributions e.g., 10 at 18, 20 at 22, balance at 26. Just wanted to let you there are multiple options that can achieve your goals; definitely speak with an attorney and a financial planner to get a better idea of whats out there and what may work for your situation. GOOD LUCK! 