Ways to Determine Which Type of Trust is Best for Your Estate Plan

Is a trust the best option for your estate plan? This is a question that countless clients wonder. What exactly is a trust and will it ultimately benefit them in the estate planning goals that they have? There are many people who mistakenly believe that a trust is something that will only benefit an individual who has a high net worth. While it is true that there are tremendous advantages in developing a trust for a person who has larger estate, the reality is that developing a trust as part of your estate plan is something that can benefit you regardless of the size of your estate.

What is a Trust?

A trust is an estate planning tool that is used to manage your assets in a unique way. Many people take advantage of a trust due to the fact that it can help them avoid the probate process and also help when it comes to possible tax consequences. The specific type of trust that you need is a decision that you should make with the guidance of your estate planning attorney based on a range of factors.

What Types of Trusts are There?
In estate planning, trusts typically fall into two different categories: revocable and irrevocable. A revocable trust is a type of trust that you create during your lifetime and it is something that you can continue to maintain control over throughout the course of your life. You can add money to the trust, remove money or even make changes to the framework of the trust throughout your lifetime. For individuals who want to maintain more control over their assets during their lifetime, this is typically a trust that they would want to take advantage of.

However, there are also estate and tax benefits associated with developing an irrevocable trust. For instance, a person can set up an irrevocable trust as part of their long-term care or providing for minor children. It’s important to remember that if you opt to utilize an irrevocable trust, you will not be able to directly remove money from the trust once you fund it. Therefore, it’s important that you take this step with the expert guidance of an estate planning attorney.

Things To Consider When It Comes to Trust Planning

Similar to every aspect of estate planning, there are several factors that you should be conscious of when putting together a trust plan. While our estate and trust planning attorneys will go through these details with you in more specificity, here are just a few things that you will want to keep in mind when it comes to trust planning in general:

• Are there important tax considerations that need to be accounted for?
• Who are the beneficiaries of your estate and would they benefit from a trust?
• Who will you name as the trustee of your trust?

Keep in mind that a trust is an estate planning tool that you can structure in a very personalized way. You can decide how you would like the assets of your trust distributed following your death. You can put parameters in this distribution to ensure that it’s something that you feel comfortable with, however, to confirm that it is something that will still benefit your beneficiaries which is the ultimate goal.

Build Your Trust Plan With Our Team Today
If you have questions as to whether trust planning is the best option for you or you would like to put together the framework of an estate plan, we recommend that you schedule a consultation with our estate planning team. With years of experience in the estate planning industry, you can take comfort in the fact that our team will review all of the aspects of your assets and the intentions that you have for them to ensure that your final wishes are seen to. If you have more questions or concerns about the process of trust or estate planning, get in touch with us today for an appointment! Call our office at 321-804-2915 or fill out our contact form and we will be in touch to schedule a meeting.