Trusts are formal documents that you can use to pass your assets and other property to your loved ones. An attorney can work with seniors, caregivers, people with special needs, and families, to help reduce the stress often associated with financial planning. If you need to discuss the different types of trusts and estate planning options available to you, an experienced Waterbury trusts lawyer can help provide assistance and answer any questions you have.
Trusts: You Have Several Options
A trust is a fiduciary agreement where one party holds onto and administers assets for a beneficiary (someone who gets the property or assets left to them in the trust).
When setting up a trust, you have many options for the type of trust you might choose. A trust can be part of a larger, comprehensive estate plan. The options for trusts you can consider include:
- Irrevocable trusts – a trust that can’t be changed or canceled without the consent of the named trust beneficiaries.
- AB trusts – the goal is to reduce potential estate taxes, and it separates the assets of a married couple into two trusts after the death of the first spouse.
- Asset protection trusts – someone transfers ownership of their assets directly to a trustee, which can often protect said assets from legal claims and creditors through third-party control and removing them from personal ownership.
- Charitable trusts – this is a type of irrevocable trust that provides a donation of an asset to a charitable cause or charity, rather than an individual. An attorney can help address your philanthropic goals both during your lifetime as well as when planning for a charitable donation after your death. An attorney can help with a nonprofit donation and can bring a unique perspective to your charitable planning.
- Special needs trusts – this provides financial support for someone with a chronic illness or a disability, while the trustee pays for their unique needs.
- Living trust – this allows you to transfer your assets to a specified trustee who can hold and manage the assets to benefit a specific person or beneficiary. They can often help avoid having to go to probate court and can be distributed in accordance with the trust terms pursuant to your asset protection wishes.
- Generation-skipping trust – this type of trust intentionally skips an entire generation of your family and can ensure your grandchildren are the sole heirs of your estate. If you have a rough relationship with your children but still want to ensure your grandchildren receive financial benefits, a generation-skipping trust may be an option for your estate plan.
Since there are many different types of trusts with a variety of financial benefits, it’s helpful to consult an experienced trusts and estate planning attorney. An attorney can help explore the various options and help explain the potential impact that selecting a trust could have.
Reasons to Consult an Experienced Waterbury Trusts Attorney
Every adult should consider consulting an experienced local trusts attorney to discuss creating a legally-enforceable estate plan. An attorney can help by:
- Assisting with helping avoid probate, when possible.
- Making the process of probate quicker and less complicated when your specific wishes are detailed in writing with your estate plan.
- Transferring all assets to the appropriate beneficiaries.
- Donating to your chosen charities.
- Selecting the guardian you intend for your minor children.
- Determining an appropriate guardian for a loved one with special needs.
An attorney can provide invaluable help when creating a trust. Most courts typically won’t honor trusts you’ve created yourself using online documents. While they may seem customizable, often the online options simply don’t account for the variety of assets someone might need to consider. As a result, your loved ones could end up spending time and resources to resolve your estate and distribute assets after your death.
To avoid this and to make sure the court honors your trusts and other estate plan documents, it’s crucial to consult an experienced Waterbury attorney.
Whether the best option for you is a comprehensive will, the establishment of trusts or other estate planning solutions, we will find a solution that fits your needs.
Waterbury Attorneys Provide Estate Planning Services
An attorney can discuss your assets and then provide a wide variety of services for your family as you address the distribution of your assets. In addition to considering establishing an enforceable trust, an attorney can help:
- Gather information – during an initial meeting or at a later meeting, a lawyer can gather relevant information about your assets and your family that can help with preparing documents for your estate plan.
- Consider your objectives – an attorney can address your specific goals and discuss your concerns about the distribution of your estate and assets.
- Provide estate counseling – an attorney can discuss the complex estate and tax gifting system, as this often determines the structure of your individual process for estate planning. You can discuss other factors that might impact how you form your estate plan, including considering lifetime gifting programs that help minimize any impact of CT estate taxes on your financial legacy.
- Give preliminary estate plan recommendations – an attorney can help minimize any adverse impact of your plan on your current finances and give their initial impression of the types of trusts and full estate plans you can consider.
- Prepare a customized plan – an attorney can help provide a written estate plan based on the information they’ve gathered about your assets and your family. Based on your preferences, they can continue to solicit your feedback to ensure your goals have been met.
- Draft necessary estate plan documents – once you’ve settled on a specific course of action with your desired estate plan, an attorney can draft your formal documents, make sure you understand the included terms, and explain the effect of the formal documents before you sign them.
- Provide supplemental services – an estate planning attorney is typically with their client for several years, and an attorney might help with a variety of other legal services, including gift tax assistance. Also, when changes occur with the law or when a major life event happens for an estate planning client, an attorney can typically revisit their estate planning documents and update them as needed.
An attorney can help preserve the wealth accumulated during someone’s lifetime, and they can help their clients in a variety of ways. Contact a trusted Waterbury attorney right away to discuss your unique financial situation and to address protecting your financial legacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
A: To have a valid and enforceable waterbury trust, you do not need to have it formally notarized – unless it transfers real property. Generally, notarization isn’t necessary for a court to consider a trust valid.
However, a trust document that doesn’t conform to state requirements might not be enforceable (and sometimes triggers litigation). Therefore, it’s helpful for those contemplating their estate legacy to consult legal guidance from a waterbury lawyer when preparing a trust to ensure its validity and enforceability.
A: The main difference between a waterbury will and a trust is the purpose they serve when creating a CT estate plan. A will addresses specific wishes for asset distribution after death. A trust guides assets both during someone’s lifetime and post-death.
Both wills and trusts can play a part in a comprehensive estate plan. An experienced waterbury attorney can further discuss their differences and explore your legacy wishes.
A: One of the biggest mistakes a parent might make when setting up a trust is choosing an inappropriate trustee to supervise and manage the trust administration. This one decision can have major consequences, such as:
- Mismanaging the assets.
- Allowing potential trust theft.
- Creating family conflict.
- Derailing your child’s financial future.
To set up a trust fund for your child with an appropriate trustee, it’s important to consult an experienced Waterbury estate planning attorney to discuss your trustee options.
A: Having a valid living trust can often help avoid probate court in waterbury. If you create a trust with beneficiaries and transfer your asset ownership into it, the trustee can often distribute the assets and avoid probate. However, you’d need to prepare an estate tax return and create a will to distribute all assets that aren’t part of the trust.
A waterbury attorney can help explore preparing a living trust and answer any other questions you have about estate planning.
Consult an Experienced Waterbury Trusts Lawyer – Call Burns Thomas, LLC Today
When hiring an estate planning attorney, you can feel confident knowing you did everything you could to protect your family’s future. Creating an enforceable trust is one way to help protect your loved ones financially after you have passed away. An attorney can collaborate with you to ensure we’ve helped transfer your wealth, protect your assets, and minimize the impact of any potential estate tax.
An experienced Waterbury trusts lawyer can help discuss the process of creating the trust and ensuring it is legally enforceable. An attorney can help you avoid making mistakes and answer your questions about estate planning in general.
Burns Thomas, LLC, can help decide which trust can protect your family. Contact us to set up an initial consultation to discuss how we can help develop your distinctive trust.
Contact our firm today to learn more about how our
New Haven County estate planning lawyers can help you.