The trust attorneys at Clarity Legal Group will assist you in taking steps to protect the people you love. When you use tools like trusts as part of your incapacity and end of life plan or in planning for an ongoing legacy for your family, it pays to have experience trust attorneys who can help you design a plan that is right for you. A trust is a great estate planning tool, but it is important to understand that while the use of a trust is a great strategy, it is the thought design of the trust plan which can make the most difference for you and your family. In addition, too often, people get a trust, but the ownership of their assets is not in sync with the trust plan.
These tools do not just help you to protect assets and have more control over legal processes. The tools that we can help you to create can allow you to ensure your family is protected and provided for, even if something happens to you. At Clarity Legal Group we think a well crafted trust can be a key element of provided you with peace of mind that you affairs are in order.
Trusts are very versatile and they are a great tool for making certain that all family members are taken care of if you get sick or pass away. If you live in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary or any of the surrounding areas, a conversation with one of our attorneys about how you can best make use of trusts to make sure your family is secure can provide important clarity about estate planning and how effective planning can protect you and your loved ones.
To effectively plan with a trust, you need to to each of the following:
- Thoughtfully determine your goals.
- Understand how the trust fits into the structure of your plan.
- Define who will manage your trust as Trustee, during your life, your possible incapacity, at your death and after your death for anyone who might inherit from you in trust.
- Understand the relationship between your trust and other legal documents.
- Determine which assets should be owned through the trust and when and how they should become part of the trust.
- Properly execute your trust and other estate planning documents.
- Make sure your asset ownership and beneficiary designations are in sync with the trust.
You should work with a team of experienced estate planning attorneys who will help you with each of these elements.
Trusts Can Allow You To Ensure Loved Ones Inherit Quickly
The probate process is the process by which most assets transfer after a death. Because it is time-consuming, you may want to create a trust to allow your wealth to pass through the trust administration process instead of through the probate process. This can allow for your loved ones to inherit more quickly, which is important if your family depends upon your income and you plan for an inheritance to provide for them.
Trusts Can Help Protect the Value of a Loved One’s Inheritance
Trusts help protect an inheritance by allowing you to reduce probate costs since assets can transfer during the trust administration process. Depending upon the type of trust you create, trusts could also help to reduce or avoid estate tax, allow you to keep assets safe in case you require nursing home care, to ensure your heirs or beneficiaries who are irresponsible with money do not squander the trust assets, or to protect even the most responsible heirs from the perils of divorce or creditor’s claims.
Trusts Can Help Ensure Your Minor Children’s Inheritance is Managed Appropriately
If you pass away and leave money to minor children, a guardian may need to be appointed to manage the funds since kids cannot directly inherit and control their own wealth. If you make a trust, you can name a trustee who can manage the inherited assets for your children rather than just having the court appoint a guardian. You can ensure that you’ve selected the right person to manage the assets and you can also have more control over how the money in the trust is used.
Trusts Can Help you To Provide for a Disabled Child
If you have a child who is disabled, you may wish to provide a generous inheritance so the child can have an enhanced quality of life even if he or she cannot work. However, providing an inheritance could jeopardize access to important government benefits if the inheritance is not structured appropriately. Means-tested benefits like Medicaid and Social Security could be at risk if the child receives a substantial amount of money. Working with a trust lawyer will allow you to use a special needs trust or other appropriate tool to make sure you can leave money to provide for a disabled loved one without benefits being lost.
Trusts Can Help You To Create a Fund for the Care of Your Pets
Pets are members of the family too, but unfortunately the ASPCA indicates there are 7.6 million companion animals surrendered each year on average. All-too-often, pets are surrendered because something has happened to their owner. If you have pets and you want to ensure they will be safe and provided for, you should include them in your estate planning. You can name someone to take care of your pets and can create a trust to provide financially for their care and to ensure that the money you earmark for your animals is used for your intended purpose.
Durham Chapel Hill Raleigh Cary Trust Attorneys
These are just a few of the key ways our trust attorneys can help your family. We can also assist you in taking other steps to determine if trust creation is right for you and to go through the process of creating a trust. Give us a call at 919-484-0012 or contact us online today to find out more.
Mark Costley
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