Do I need a trust?
Estate Planning

Why You Need a Trust – Even if You Aren’t Rich

When you hear the words, “trust fund,” do you conjure up images of stately mansions and party yachts? A trust fund - or trust - is actually a great estate planning tool for many people with a wide range of incomes who want to accomplish a specific purpose with their money.

Simply put, a trust is just a vehicle used to transfer assets, and trusts are especially useful for parents of minor children as well as those who wish to spare their beneficiaries the hassle of going to Court in the event of their incapacity or death.

And why would you want to keep your family out of court (known as avoiding probate)?

Perhaps you’d like to keep private the details of the assets you are leaving your heirs. Leaving assets via a will that must go through probate to go into effect makes your estate a matter of public record. A trust is a private document and distributes assets upon your death without the need for probate, which can tie up assets for a long period of time in court.

The court process can take longer than is necessary and keep your family from getting access to your assets as quickly as they want or need them.

If you have minor children, you need to create a trust in order to leave your assets to them since minors cannot inherit directly. You will want to name a trustee to manage those assets for your children. Even if your children are adults, a trust can help protect assets you leave for them from creditors, legal judgments, divorce, or even their poor money management habits.

You can even establish a trust for yourself in case you become incapacitated and cannot manage your own finances at some future time. The trust assets are managed by a successor trustee, which avoids the need for a court-appointed conservator if you become incapacitated.

Trusts are also wonderful tools for those who are members of a blended family. If you are remarried and have children from a previous marriage, you can provide for your current spouse while ensuring your assets pass to your children from another marriage using a by-pass trust. 

With this kind of trust, the assets will pass to your children free of estate tax upon the death of your surviving spouse.

As you can see, there are many reasons to create a trust, and being rich isn’t necessarily one of them. You can learn more about how a trust might benefit you or your family by scheduling a Family Wealth Planning Session™, where we can identify the best strategies that are unique to you and your family.

Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. If you’re ready to create a comprehensive estate plan, contact us to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session. Even if you already have a plan in place, we will review it and help you bring it up to date to avoid heartache for your family. Schedule online today.

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Do I need a trust?
Business Planning

Why You Should Create a Trust To Protect Your Business and Family

Although you can invest in many different types of insurance to protect your business from lawsuits and other liabilities, one of the greatest liabilities you simply can’t avoid, especially if you are the sole owner of your business, is your incapacity or death.

To make certain that your business—and the income it generates for your family—would continue to run smoothly when something happens to you, you need to create a comprehensive estate plan, and it really needs to include a trust. Without such a plan in place, your business will be stuck in an unnecessary court process, and it could easily cause the loss of everything you’ve worked so hard to build.

A Will Alone Is Not Enough

When it comes to creating an estate plan, most people typically think of a will. While it’s possible to leave your company to someone in your will, it’s far from the ideal option. That’s because, upon your death, all assets passed through a will must first go through the court process known as probate. The cost of probate, the time of probate, and the complexity of a court making decisions about your business assets is wholly unnecessary.

During probate, the court oversees your will’s administration to ensure your assets (including your business) are distributed according to your wishes. But probate can take months, or even years, to complete, and it can also be quite expensive, which can seriously disrupt your operation and its cash flow. What’s more, probate is a public process, potentially leaving your business affairs open to your competitors.

Furthermore, a will only goes into effect upon your death, so it would do nothing to protect your business should you become incapacitated by illness or injury. Indeed, if you only have a will in place (or have no estate plan at all), in the event of your incapacity, your family would have to petition the court for guardianship in order to manage your business and other personal and financial affairs.

Like probate, the court process associated with guardianship can be long and costly. And in the end, whether it’s a family member or professional guardianship agency, there’s no guarantee the individual the court ultimately names as guardian of your assets would be the best person to run your company.

Maximum Protection For Your Business and Family

Given the drawbacks associated with a will, a much better way to ensure your business's continued success is by placing your company in a revocable living trust. A living trust is not required to go through probate, and all assets placed within the trust are immediately transferred to the person, or persons, of your choice in the event of your death or incapacity.

Upon your death or incapacity, having your business held in trust would allow for the smooth transition of control of your company, without the time and expense associated with probate or guardianship. Using a trust, you can choose the individual(s) you think is best suited to run your company in your absence, whether that absence is permanent (your death) or temporary (your incapacity). What’s more, within the trust, you can also create a succession plan, which would provide the new owner with detailed—and legally binding—instructions for how you want the business run when you are gone.

Finally, trusts are not open to the public, so your company’s internal affairs would remain private, and the transfer of ownership would take place in your lawyer’s office, not a courtroom.

Although the majority of business owners will get suitable protection for their business using a revocable living trust, for the most airtight form of asset protection, you may want to consider creating a specialized irrevocable trust. Such irrevocable trusts are quite complex, so they are not for everyone, ask your Family Business Lawyer™ to find out if such a trust would be suitable for your particular company.

A Comprehensive Plan

While placing your business in a trust is an effective way to protect your company upon your death or incapacity, it’s merely one part of a comprehensive asset protection plan. To get the maximum level of protection for your business, meet with us, as your Family Business Lawyer™.

We can analyze your business and its assets, and discuss all of the different tools available to ensure the company and wealth you’ve worked so hard to build will survive—and thrive—no matter what.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for business owners and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer you a LIFT Your Life And Business Planning Session, which includes a review of all the legal, insurance, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Schedule online today.

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