Many times, estate planning will reveal the need to create a trust. This can happen for various reasons, but regardless of how you came to this conclusion, the most important next step is ensuring that you set up a trust that meets your exact needs. A Coral Springs trust attorney can help you ensure that your trust is set up correctly so you can rest assured that your future plans are secure.
A trust is a legal arrangement in which one person becomes the nominal owner of something of value (money, real estate, etc.) on behalf of another person so that the asset may be used for a beneficiary when certain requirements are met. The person holding the asset is known as a trustee, and the person setting up the trust is the Settlor or Grantor.
For many reasons, a trust may be the best tool to call upon in your estate planning. While trusts can be especially useful for those with high-income estate planning needs or special needs planning for adult-dependent children, trusts are not limited to these situations. Here are some of the most common reasons to use a trust:
Many people will wonder if they need an attorney for trust planning. The short answer is that a wills lawyer is not necessary to set up a trust, but doing so without professional guidance can lead to costly mistakes. There are many different kinds of trusts, and they will only work as planned if they are set up properly with accurate and legally-binding paperwork to accompany the plan. Many people find it challenging to do this work on their own without previous experience and expertise.
The basic steps of setting up a trust include:
It’s also important to note that many trust companies will require the documentation to be written with the assistance of an estate planning attorney if the trust is complex.
A trust attorney can help you at every step in the process. If you are just getting started and aren’t sure that a trust is the right estate planning tool for you, an experienced estate planning attorney can help you decide. If you know you need a trust but aren’t sure which one, your attorney can advise you on the different types and how they will or will not meet your needs.
Most importantly, a trust attorney will ensure that the documentation guiding the management of your trust accurately and legally reflects your wishes. With the help of an experienced professional, you can rest assured that your plans will go smoothly.
It’s never too early to start estate planning. If you’re considering setting up a trust, now is the time to contact a trust lawyer. If you are worried that your plans may change in the future, your attorney can discuss options that will allow you to make changes to your plans at any time. This way, you can set up your trust now with your current plans in place and then make alterations when life changes (such as marriages, divorces, and births that alter your beneficiaries or new passions and interests that bring new charity donations into your future plans).
Estate planning can be challenging both logistically and emotionally. It can be particularly hard to get guidance from family members who have personal interests in your decision-making process. Having the guidance of a third party whose only interest is helping you set up your plans in a way that works for you can provide you with the confidence, clarity, and control you deserve to have over your assets.
A trust sets up a legal relationship between the person setting up the trust (called a Grantor, Settlor, or Trustor), the person managing the trust (called a trustee), and the person, people, or institutions for whom the trust was created (called beneficiaries).
In most cases, the trustee is legally bound to carry out the trustor’s plans for the trust to the exact specifications set up in the trust documents. This is referred to as being “irrevocable,” and it means that the trustee has little to no opportunity to alter a trust after the trustor’s death.
Often, people choose a family member or professional with whom they already have a working relationship to serve as trustee. Sometimes, people will choose a professional who specifically works to manage trusts.
