Experienced Counsel From Pittsburgh Trust Attorneys

Establishing a trust is the process of handing over control of one’s estate to a trustee so that the beneficiaries can receive what is entrusted to them. A beneficiary is typically a child or another close family member. A trust is a document that lays out what you desire your beneficiaries to walk away with after your life has concluded. Its proposed purpose is to reduce taxes that may be owed by the family on the decedent’s estate, to make sure that the property is distributed where desired, and to help the decedent’s family avoid the effects of probate.

The difference between a trust and a will is that a trust deals with specific portions of property while a will concerns the estate as a whole. You can choose more than one type of trust and you are not limited to just creating one. By establishing more than one trust, you can make sure that your affairs are kept private by involving different trustees in different portions of your property and assets. This helps establish peaceful privacy within your life and can help you escape lawsuits.

To create a trust, you will need to complete four basic steps. First, you must hire an attorney in order to create the trust that you want. You will want a legal professional there to help you because there is very specific language and terms that you will want to include as you work through your case. You will need to determine a trustee who will handle your case and the beneficiaries who will receive the finances therein. Second, you will need to designate an agreeable trustee who can hold money and property for the benefit of someone else. This person is responsible for all fiduciary duties that are tied to the trust. Sometimes the trustee is a professional from a bank or another entity who has been trained to handle massive amounts of money in trusts like this.

Third, you will need to place money within the trust that can be used for another person’s benefit. An empty trust is a nonexistent one. The money placed in the trust will commonly be referred to as “principal.” The finances placed within the trust can be used by the beneficiary, or they can be invested in financial endeavors. As a result, the principal in the trust will decrease or increase depending on the spending habits of the beneficiary and the success of investments by the trustee. Fourthly, to create a trust you will have to designate specific beneficiaries. These are individuals that will have access to the money for their preferences.

Types Of Trusts

There are different types of trusts that you can establish based on your needs. As mentioned above, it is not necessary to choose only one type of trust. A revocable trust is one that is subject to change and revocation up until the point that the trust maker dies. Its purpose is to manage assets while you are still alive and divide the property according to your living wishes after you have passed away. An irrevocable trust is one that cannot be changed or modified. Irrevocable life insurance trusts can be used to reduce estate taxes, plan a charitable estate trust, and protect your assets. It is important to seek legal help from our team as you create a written agreement setting in place a revocable trust or irrevocable life insurance trust.

You can also create trusts that are active while you are still living or trusts that will not be enacted until after you have passed away. Trusts that are active while you are still living are appropriately called “living trusts.” You can govern the living trust yourself and designate a trustee to take over after your death, or you can designate a trustee from the outset to oversee the use of the account. Also, you can create a testamentary trust that will not go into effect until after you have passed on.

Hire An Estate Planning Attorney At Temple & Frayer

If you need an attorney to assist you in creating a trust, then you should contact a Pittsburgh estate planning lawyer at Temple & Frayer Law Office today. You want a professional who understands the implications of a trust and can instruct all parties in their roles, as well as help you avoid a living trust scam. When you create your trust, you will be able to write out terms. For example, if you don’t want your beneficiaries to access the trust until they are 18, or you want the trustee to grant them specific amounts of money each birthday, then you can write these specifications into the terms for the trust. You will want a professional there to assist you so that you do not make a confusing or difficult mistake. Reach out to a Pittsburgh estate planning lawyer at our firm today for more information! You can also call 412-998-1197.