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Trusts

The use of different types of Trusts is an important tool in legal estate planning law, one that allows you to look out for the needs of your loved ones and to protect the assets you have worked so hard to accumulate. While a trust may seem like a tool only for the wealthy, it can in fact be useful in a variety of situations. For example, if you have minor child, a trust can be used to control assets passed down to your children so the money can be spent on their education and not be wasted in a short period of time. Or, if you are trying to avoid nursing home poverty, a trust can be used to protect your hard earned assets and family home from Medicaid recovery actions.

At Poché Estate Planning Law Firm, we have extensive experience in helping clients protect their assets and their families, experience we can use to assist you with all of your legal estate planning needs.

Types of Trusts

Some of the types of Trusts you may use for your legal estate plan include:

  • Charitable Trust
  • Medicaid Irrevocable Trust
  • Revocable Living Trust
  • Special Needs Trust
  • Asset Protection Trust
  • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
  • Pet Trust
  • Crummey Trust
  • Testamentary Trust
  • Educational Trust

As you can see, the options are quite varied. Each of these trusts is created with a specific goal in mind, giving you an opportunity to protect your estate and to take care of those that matter most to you.

What Makes A Trust So Effective?

Simply, a trust involves putting assets into the hands of a trustee (usually YOU!) to be used for a beneficiary. There are a wide variety of trusts, but the general goal behind them is fairly similar. They are designed to protect assets and take care of loved ones while allowing you to have more control over the trust funds than a simple will would.

Some of the main benefits of a trust include:

Privacy

Whatever goes through the succession or probate process becomes public record, meaning everyone can see what you have handed down to your beneficiaries. While for some people this is not a big deal, for other families it is not desirable. A trust can often bypass succession/probate and keep the assets out of the public eye.

Protecting Your Estate

If the trust is well-structured, it should be able to protect your estate from a wide variety of potential issues. If your heirs have creditors that may go after the estate, a trust may be able to prevent it from happening. If you have an heir that is not good with money, a trust can help protect the heir from wasting the inheritance.

Control

Larger estates require more tools for controlling what happens with the assets. A trust can be created that allows you to retain control of the assets while you are still alive. You can also determine the time frame of all distribution of assets and you can control exactly who will get what.

Let Poché Estate Planning Law Firm Assist With Your Legal Estate Planning

Trusts can be extremely useful in a wide variety of situations, but you need experienced legal guidance to employ them effectively. At Poché Estate Planning Law Firm, we have worked with many clients from all walks of life to plan their estates. We are intimately familiar with all types of trusts, and we can use our knowledge to help you employ exactly the trust and other legal estate planning tools necessary to look after your estate.

During your initial complimentary visit at our office, we will discuss what’s important to you; what you hope to accomplish; and the special concerns you may have. We will then help you choose the best “next steps” for your family. After you choose your family’s plan, and with our help and guidance, you will be able to preserve your hard-earned assets and take care of your loved ones in your legal estate plan. We are here to serve as YOUR LEGAL COMPASS TO LIFE!

Contact us now to discuss your legal estate planning needs.