How is a trust helpful in estate planning?
A Trust, if properly drawn and “funded,” can be extremely helpful in many situations such as: To avoid a conservatorship. If property is held in a Trust, a successor Trustee can step in and take over management, without the delay and expense of going to court to appoint a “conservator” to manage the property, if the Trustee becomes disabled. To avoid probate. A properly drawn Trust is a separate entity that does not die when the creator dies. The Trustee (or Successor Trustee if the Trust creator also acted as Trustee until his or her death) can take over management of the Trust estate and pay bills and taxes, and promptly distribute the Trust assets to the beneficiaries, without court supervision, if the Trust agreement gives the Trustee that power. Maintaining privacy. Trusts, unlike Wills, are generally private documents. Your neighbors and the public would be able to see how much you had and who your beneficiaries were under a Will, but usually not with a Trust. To help keep certai
A Trust, if properly drawn and “funded”, can be extremely helpful in many situations such as: (1) To avoid a conservatorship. If property is held in a Trust, a successor Trustee can step in and take over management, without the delay and expense of going to court to appoint a “conservator” to manage the property, if the Trust Creator becomes disabled. (2) To avoid probate. A properly drawn Trust is a separate entity that does not die when the creator dies. The successor Trustee can take over management of the Trust estate and pay bills and taxes, and promptly distribute the Trust assets to the beneficiaries, without court supervision, if the Trust agreement gives the Trustee that power. (3) Maintaining privacy. Trusts, unlike Wills, are generally private documents. Your neighbors and the public would be able to see and how much you had and who your beneficiaries were under a Will, but usually not with a Trust. (4) Help keep certain property separate from other property. For example, if
A Trust, if properly drawn and funded, can be extremely helpful in many situations such as: (1) To avoid a conservatorship. If property is held in a Trust, a successor Trustee can step in and take over management of assets if the Trust Creator becomes disabled. This avoids the delay and expense of going to court to appoint a Conservator to manage the property. (2) To avoid probate. Probate is a process where a court oversees the distribution of a persons estate after that person dies. A properly drawn Trust is a separate entity that does not die when the Creator dies. The successor Trustee can take over management of the Trust estate and do everything the Trust provisions allow, such as paying bills and taxes and promptly distributing the Trust assets to the Beneficiaries without court supervision. (3) Maintaining privacy. Trusts, unlike Wills, are generally private documents. If you leave a Will that goes to probate, your neighbors and the public will be able to see how much you had a
