An estate plan may not be the most exciting plan to be made in the New Year, but it can be one of the most important. Estate plans usually involve putting legal documents in place regarding how your assets will be handled and distributed in the event of your death. Did you know that a trust is a very common estate planning vehicle used to serve a variety of purposes? Trusts can be both versatile and customizable, therefore, it is important to work with an experienced estate planning attorney to help you create a trust that will work best for you.
Depending on your assets and your goals, you may decide to create a trust in your will to go into effect upon your death, which is a testamentary trust. On the other hand, you may create a trust to hold some or all of your assets now, which is a living trust or inter vivos trust. Or instead, you may want to maintain as much control over your assets as possible and create a revocable living trust with you as the beneficiary. Alternatively, you may want to take advantage of the tax benefits in creating an irrevocable living trust.
You may want to distribute some of the assets during your lifetime to your beneficiaries through the trust or you may want to wait to make all distributions upon your death. You may need to create a trust for a specific type of beneficiary, like a spendthrift trust for a beneficiary who you believe you need to restrict in his or her use of the assets of the trust or a special needs trust to provide for the care of a beneficiary with special needs.
As you can see, the powers and limitations that you can set forth in the trust agreement, the document that governs the operation of the trust, can be vast and different trusts can serve different purposes. Take advantage of new beginnings in this new year. Our office is available to help you maximize the benefits offered by trusts. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.