A family trust may be useful in tax planning, protecting selected assets against claims and creditors, set aside money for specific purposes, protect your children’s inheritances from division under the Family Law Act should they divorce, and avoid unwanted claims on your personal estate when you die. For example, the shares of a corporation can be held by a family trust, and all the members of the family can be the beneficial owners of the family trust. A family trust can provide an opportunity for discretionary distributions and can lock in values at the time that the trust is created, but the decision as to how the value will be distributed is deferred to some point in the future when talents and needs of the recipients can be better understood.