An estate plan has several documents, each with their own purpose. One such document is a revocable living trust. There are many reasons why a family may choose to use a trust as part of their estate plan, such as privacy or controlling distributions over time. The very purpose of estate planning is to state how you want your property distributed to your loved ones after you pass, and a trust can do exactly that.
Protect Privacy
One of the benefits of a trust is that it protects your privacy. If you do not have a trust, then your financial affairs and wishes become public knowledge. While many are not concerned about this, information is increasingly profitable and commoditized that mine public documents to sell whatever product they are selling, and the final accounting of your estate specifically says who received how much of your estate. A trust is never a public document, unless of course it is challenged in court, and so no outside person can find out how you choose to treat your loved ones.
Controlling Distributions Over Time
This benefit of a trust really revolves around how you trust your loved ones to spend their inheritance. If you think that how a loved one will spend their inheritance is different from how you would like them to spend their inheritance, then a trust is a good fit for you. Another situation when a trust is desirable is if your children are minors, as a trust helps keep the courts out of your child’s lives and keep the administration of your estate plan private. As long as your goals are not illegal (no, you cannot use your trust to fund a drug cartel) or against public policy (for example, you cannot tie trust distributions to a child’s profession of faith), you can express your values to your loved ones decades after you pass or protect their inheritance from creditors, predators, or spendors.
Seek Professional Help to Create a Trust
Determining if a trust is best for your family is a decision that is easier to make if you are working with an attorney. An attorney will also often ask you questions that you never thought of, and this will in turn make your estate plan better and more accurately reflect your wishes. An estate planning attorney can also help you put your assets into the trust, which is part of what makes your trust work. Lastly, it is important that you work with an estate planning attorney who will help you monitor and update if necessary your estate plan so that it always reflects your wishes and does what you want it to do. Contact The Rains Law Firm or schedule a complimentary initial meeting to discuss these considerations.