A trust attorney helps you to make use of trusts to protect your family and assets. Trusts are a common estate planning tool because they are both versatile and powerful. However, if you make the wrong kind of trust, financial disaster could result – especially if you do not discover the error until you are counting on the trust to provide you with benefits and protections.
Frank & Kraft will help you to make a legally valid trust that is right for you and that accomplishes your goals. You should reach out to a trust attorney at our firm as soon as possible to find out if a trust should be part of your asset protection plan, your incapacity plan or your legacy plan. You can also read on to find out about five key ways a trust attorney at our firm can help you.
A Trust Attorney Helps You Leave an Inheritance to a Minor
If you leave money to someone who is not yet 18, and you haven’t made plans for how that money will be handled, the court may need to step in to appoint a guardian who is in charge of money management. After the child turns 18, the guardian will no longer be involved and the money will be handed over to a young person without any requirements, conditions or limitations. Both the appointment of a guardian and the transfer of an entire inheritance to an 18-year-old may be undesirable. Creating a trust allows you more control over who manages a child’s inheritance and when the child receives the assets to manage himself.
A Trust Attorney Helps You Provide for a Disabled Loved One
Leaving money or property to someone who is disabled could result in a loss of access to means-tested benefits like Medicaid. The use of a special needs trust can make it possible to provide financially for a disabled person without jeopardizing important benefits. You can also select a responsible person to serve as trustee and manage assets for the person who is disabled.
A Trust Attorney Helps You Protect Assets in Case of Incapacity
If you are incapacitated by an illness or injury, someone must manage your assets. If you have not made an incapacity plan, there will be a delay in managing your wealth as guardianship proceedings take place in court. The court may also appoint someone different than the person you would have preferred to manage your assets. If you make a trust and name a backup trustee, that backup trustee could take immediate control over trust assets if something happens to affect your ability to manage the assets on your own.
A Trust Attorney Helps You Protect Assets in Case You Need Nursing Home Care
When you need nursing home care, Medicare and most private insurers won’t pay unless you need skilled care. Nursing homes are very expensive, and you’ll have to pay privately if you don’t have Medicare coverage or another insurer covering your care. Medicaid does pay for a nursing home, but Medicaid is means-tested so ownership of too many assets disqualifies you. Certain types of trusts allow you to structure ownership of assets so you aren’t disqualified from getting Medicaid when you need it to pay for your nursing home.
A Trust Attorney Helps You Pass Assets Outside of Probate
The probate process can take around a year and sometimes longer depending upon the complexity of an estate. The long delay until heirs or beneficiaries take ownership of assets left to them could result in assets depreciating in value if they require careful hands-on management that an executor may not be fully capable of providing. Heirs or beneficiaries depending upon receiving an inheritance could also suffer financial hardship during the wait. Using a trust to allow assets to pass through trust administration instead of probate can make the transfer of assets much quicker, allowing you to avoid these problems.
Getting Help from A Trust Attorney
A trust attorney at Frank & Kraft can offer you the help you need in all of these situations and many more. To find out about the different ways our legal team can assist you with using trusts as part of your plans for the future, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 317-684-1100 or contact us online to talk with an attorney about whether a trust is right for you.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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