In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to model a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) in the Voyant software.
You’ll learn how to:
Set up a SLAT as an irrevocable trust in a client’s plan
Transfer assets into the trust and illustrate the impact on the estate
Model distributions and access by the beneficiary spouse
Demonstrate the long-term tax and legacy planning benefits
Transcript:
Creating the SLAT What-If Plan
We’ll start in the What-If section and create a new scenario. Once it’s created, you can easily toggle between their current Base Plan and this new SLAT Plan by selecting the SLAT scenario in the top right.
Click the plus (+) button.
Select Trusts.
Under Trust Type, choose Spousal Lifetime Access Trust.
Make Rebecca the grantor.
Give the trust a name.
Choose the income type for this trust.
Under Advanced Settings, defaults will already be populated based on common use cases for this trust type, but you can toggle options on or off for unique trust setups.
Under Beneficiary, assign Abraham as the beneficiary.
Click Done to save.
Transferring Assets into the SLAT
Once the trust is created, you’ll now see:
A Trusts section.
An automatically created investment account for “Rebecca SLAT” under Savings & Investments.
To move the inherited investment into the trust:
Click the plus (+) button → Transfers.
Transfer To: Rebecca SLAT.
Transfer From: Inherited Investment.
Amount: All Available.
Set as One-Time Transfer (not recurring).
Timing: Plan Start event.
Click Done.
To confirm:
Go to Year View.
Check Investments — you should see a withdrawal from the inherited account and a contribution to the trust.
Scheduling Trust Distributions
With the asset removed from the main plan, you may see a retirement shortfall because the software can’t liquidate trust assets automatically.
To fix this:
Click plus (+) → Trusts → Trust Distribution.
Distribution Type: Capital Distribution.
Trust: Rebecca SLAT.
Amount: $300,000 Fixed.
Timing: Start at Rebecca’s retirement, end at Abraham’s mortality.
Click Done.
Now their retirement expenses are being met.
Comparing Estate Outcomes
To see the difference the SLAT makes:
Go to Overview → Legacy.
Use Comparison View to compare the Base Plan vs. the SLAT Plan.
Look at the Tax Outcome when Rebecca passes and Abraham inherits.
Results:
In the SLAT Plan: No federal or state estate tax.
In the Base Plan: Significant estate tax liability.
At Abraham’s final mortality:
With SLAT: $0 estate tax; trust assets pass outside the estate.
Without SLAT: $55 million in estate taxes.
This shows the SLAT’s effectiveness in reducing taxable estate value and increasing total after-tax wealth transfer to heirs.
I hope this was helpful. If you have questions or need assistance setting up a SLAT or any other trust type, you can:
Email support@planwithvoyant.com, or
Click your client’s name in the top right, choose Request Support, enter your question, and share client access.