Bypass Trust A bypass trust is an estate planning arrangement for married couples that is primarily designed to minimize estate taxes. The couple places property in the trust and when the first spouse dies, the trust is split into two, one of which is called the bypass trust. The money in the non-bypass trust will be used for the maintenance of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse only has limited access to the money in the bypass trust. When the surviving spouse does, however, the money in the bypass trust passes on to the beneficiaries (e.g., couple's children) with minimum estate tax consequences.
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