With her near-sightedness, and those tremulous fingers of hers, at once inflexible and delicate, she could not be a seamstress; although her sampler, of fifty years gone by, exhibited some of the most recondite specimens of ornamental needlework.
State taxes on family trusts vary, but federal laws require family trusts to pay taxes on income it keeps but not on any that is distributed. A trust that earns $50,000 and distributes it all to trust beneficiaries pays no income tax. The beneficiaries pay income taxes on funds given to them.
A living trust can help avoid estate taxes. Although the federal estate tax was repealed in 2010, it was reinstated in 2011. Taxable estates not exceeding $5 million in value are not subject to federal estate taxes. However, some states levy estate taxes on smaller estates.