When it comes to setting up a trust there are a lot of benefits. If you choose to set up a trust you can specify exactly where you want your assets to go after you pass. If you’re interested in creating a trust but you’re unfamiliar with the process then hopefully this will help provide clarity and aid you in making your decision.
The first step in creating a trust is to decide what assets you’d like to include in your trust as a car accident lawyer can explain — unfortunately they see many people pass away in car accidents without estate planning in place, so it is important to have something just in case. If you are contemplating making a trust then you may have some idea of the assets you want to include in it. You can include cash, real estate properties, investments or stocks, any assets that you’d like to go to a specific person or organization.
Once you decide the assets you want in your trust, you can choose the beneficiaries for your assets. The beneficiaries are those that will be receiving your assets after you pass, this could be your spouse, children, or even a foundation or charity that you support.
According to the Brandy Austin Law Firm, this next step could possibly be a little more lengthy since you’ll need to set parameters for how you want your trust to be distributed. You get to decide what happens to your money and assets, for example if you want to give funds to your grandchild only when it’s time for them to go to college or if you choose to give your money to charity you could organize it to be sent in installments over the years. This is completely your choice in order to make sure that your money and assets are distributed exactly how you’d like them to be.
Next it’s time to choose your trustee, or trustees. Your trustee is the person that will be in charge of administering your assets after your death. It’s possible for you to choose a friend or family member to be your trustee if that’s what you’d like, but in many cases having an unbiased third party as your trustee will be more beneficial. A bank or financial institution will be able to
do this for you and having a professional trustee will ensure that family dynamics are set aside. By having a professional trustee who has experience dealing with trusts and with grieving family members as well as being unbiased and objective while distributing your assets.
Finally, it will be time to draft the actual trust with an attorney. While your attorney is drafting your document you may want to ask about power of attorney. This means that in the event that you are unable to make decisions regarding your trust prior to your death, there will be a person with the power of attorney that can step in and make decisions on your behalf. Medical power of attorney may be useful as well in case you are incapacitated, it would allow an appointed person to make medical decisions for you if you can’t make them for yourself.
The process for creating a trust is not too lengthy, it could range from a few days to a few weeks. If you choose to create a trust to help manage your assets, an attorney will be able to help you with drafting it and with power of attorney if you need it. Contact an attorney near you to get started.