Carmel trust attorneys can help you with creating a trust so you can use this important and versatile legal tool to protect your assets and provide a legacy for your loved ones. Creating a trust can be more complicated and costly than creating a last will and testament, so you may wonder why you would bother with trust creation if you could just make a last will and testament to specify who inherits. The reality is that a trust is often better than a will for lots of different reasons, and both you and your heirs or beneficiaries could benefit if you make a trust the centerpiece of your estate plan instead of a will.
If you are not sure what a trust could do for you or why a trust may be a better estate planning document for you to create than a last will and testament, you should reach out to Carmel trust attorneys at Frank & Kraft to get personalized advice. We can provide you with insight into the benefits of trust creation and can help with the process of creating a legally valid trust. You can also read on to find out some key reasons why a trust could be better than a will.
A Trust Can Give You More Control
When you make a last will and testament, you can specify who inherits but you cannot retain much control over what happens to an inheritance after you pass away. If you have irresponsible heirs or beneficiaries, the inheritance you provided could be squandered. If you have minors who you want to leave money to, the court might have to appoint a guardian to manage the funds. You won’t have control in these circumstances, and may not be happy about what is done with the assets you left behind.
If you create a trust, on the other hand, you can retain a lot of control. You can make specific types of trusts that require money to be used for a certain purpose and that restrict how much of the trust assets heirs or beneficiaries can access. You can name a reliable trustee who you can count on to manage trust assets and can provide specific instructions in a trust document that must be followed.
A Trust Can Provide More Protection for Assets
Trusts can provide more protection as well as more control. You can protect assets held in a trust not only during your lifetime but after your death as well. The types of protections that you can get for assets held within the trust will vary depending upon the type of trust. For example, a living trust won’t protect assets in the trust from estate tax or from being taken by creditors. However, the assets in the living trust will be protected from loss due to mismanagement if you become incapacitated because the person you named as trustee can manage the trust assets as soon as something happens to you.
A Trust Can Allow Assets to Transfer More Quickly
Assets held in a living trust can pass though the trust administration process instead of the probate process. This is a much faster process in most cases than the probate process, which can take around a full year to complete according to Investopedia. If you have heirs or beneficiaries who are counting on an inheritance, transferring assets quickly is a major benefit.
A Trust Makes It Possible to Transfer Assets More Privately
While the probate process takes place in court and there are court records, the trust administration process can facilitate the transfer of assets outside of court unless there is a serious problem. This allows for you and your heirs or beneficiaries to maintain much more privacy.
Getting Help from Carmel Trust Attorneys
Carmel trust attorneys at Frank & Kraft can provide the personalized advice that you need to decide of creating a trust is right for you or if there are other estate planning tools that would be better suited to your situation. If trust creation makes sense for your needs, our legal team will help you to create your trust document and follow all legal formalities to make a legally valid trust.
To find out more about the ways in which our firm can help you with all legal issues related to trusts and related to creating your comprehensive estate plan, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 317-684-1100 or contact us online at any time.
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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