HEMS Trust Provisions · Arizona
Give your trust clear instructions.
A trust can say how an inheritance should be used. Irma explains HEMS, one way to guide those decisions, in this one-minute video.
Four letters that guide trust payments.
Naming who receives your assets is one part of a plan. You may also want to say how someone should manage that gift while it stays in trust. Without clear terms, your trustee and family may read your wishes differently.
HEMS stands for Health, Education, Maintenance, and Support. A trust can use those four areas to guide payments for a beneficiary. As Irma says in the video, each family needs its own plan.
See how trusts workThe needs a HEMS provision can address.
These are examples to discuss when planning. A category name alone does not approve a payment; the full trust and your beneficiary's needs matter.
Health
Medical visits, dental care, and nursing costs are examples to discuss. Your trustee must check your trust's terms before using trust funds to pay a bill.
Education
College and professional education can fall within this standard. If you want to support a child's studies, say how tuition and other school costs should be handled.
Maintenance
This can address a beneficiary's usual living needs. A rent payment is one example to review against the trust's wording and the person's circumstances.
Support
Support overlaps with maintenance and can extend beyond bare essentials. Your plan should give the trustee a clear way to weigh ongoing needs against the funds available.
Choose how your gift reaches your family.
An outright gift and an inheritance held in trust give your beneficiary different kinds of control. Start with the person you want to help.
- Who manages the money
An outright gift
Your beneficiary manages the funds after receiving them outright.
Funds held in trust
Your trustee manages the funds still held in trust and follows its payment rules.
- How a need is handled
An outright gift
Your beneficiary decides how to spend the money they own.
Funds held in trust
Your trustee reviews the request under the trust's terms. A HEMS provision can guide that review.
- What you need to decide
An outright gift
Whether your beneficiary is ready to receive and manage the gift.
Funds held in trust
Who should serve as trustee, which needs to cover, and when any remaining balance should pass outright.
Your trust's full wording still matters.
Arizona law requires a trustee to act in good faith and follow the trust's terms. A HEMS clause works within that document. It does not replace the rest of your plan.
For example, a Scottsdale parent might want a trust to help with an adult child's school costs. Discuss who reviews each request, what records they need, and how long funds should stay in trust. Write those choices down.
Discuss your trust instructionsThe Turquoise difference
Plan with your family's needs in mind.
Irma's message is to ask questions and plan with intention. Bring us the details of the people you want to help, and we can discuss instructions that fit their lives.
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Bring your wishes into the conversation.
- 01
Start with the person
Tell us who you want to help and what their day-to-day life looks like. A child in school and an adult paying a mortgage may need different instructions.
- 02
Describe the help you want to give
Bring examples: tuition, medical care, or living costs. We can discuss which requests you want a trustee to consider and where you want limits.
- 03
Choose who will carry it out
Think about who can read the trust, review requests, keep records, and talk with your family. Name a backup in case your first choice cannot serve.
Keep exploring
Help with writing and carrying out your trust.
HEMS questions, answered plainly.
Use these answers to prepare for a conversation about your own trust. Bring the document so we can review its actual terms.
Call (480) 863-6303No. As Irma explains in the video, every family and plan is different. Start with your beneficiary's needs and the kind of help you want to leave, then discuss whether HEMS fits.
No. Your trustee must read the whole trust, including whether a payment is required or left to their judgment. A medical or school bill still needs to be reviewed under those terms.
Sometimes. A.R.S. 14-10814 addresses limits on certain payments a beneficiary-trustee makes for their own benefit. The trust's wording and the law's exceptions matter, so review that choice before naming someone.
No. HEMS describes a payment standard. Whether trust assets face a claim depends on other trust terms, the type of trust, and the law that applies to the claim. The letters alone promise no protection.
Yes. Irma recorded a Spanish version of this same video, available through the language switch. You can also discuss your family's plan with Turquoise Law Group in English or Spanish.
Read the video transcript
Did you know your trust can include instructions about how a beneficiary's inheritance may be used? A HEMS provision stands for Health, Education, Maintenance, and Support. It is a concept used in some trusts to establish certain parameters related to a beneficiary's health, education, maintenance, and support. It doesn't mean every trust needs a HEMS provision. Every family and estate plan is different. Estate planning isn't just about deciding who receives your assets. It can also be about considering how you want those assets protected and managed. Get informed, ask questions, plan with intention. Call us today at Turquoise Law Group at 480-863-6303.
Legal references: A.R.S. 14-10801, A.R.S. 14-10814, 26 C.F.R. 20.2041-1(c)(2).
This page is general information for educational purposes. It is not legal advice about your trust, taxes, or a beneficiary's rights. Reading it does not make us your lawyers. Talk with us before changing trust terms or making a payment.
Turquoise Law Group, PLLC contracts with Roddy & Urness, PLLC or Nancy C. Pohl, PLLC in order to provide legal advice to your matter at an affordable cost.
Schedule your meeting
Give your plan clear instructions.
Book a free consultation with Turquoise Law Group. Bring your questions and any existing trust so we can discuss how you want your family to be supported.
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(480) 863-6303