In Indian Wells, California, a trust is an arrangement in which property is held by one person (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).

Trusts can serve any number of purposes. They can be set up to ensure that the child has a college fund, or to see that the beneficiary's basic needs are met, without the money being spent on frivolities.

If you want to set up a trust, you can make the beneficiary's use of the property as restricted or as permissive as you like. As a simple example, you might want to dictate that the beneficiary can only use the money for emergencies, or for basic living expenses. If the trust is carefully drafted, this is totally feasible.

A trust could, of course, be much more permissive, if the creator of the trust wants it to be. You could set up a trust allowing the beneficiary to spend as much of the money in it as they like, on anything. Of course, in such a situation, the trust fund might not last very long, especially if the beneficiary is a younger person.

What to Include in Any Indian Wells, CA Trust

There are 4 distinct elements that must be present for any trust to be valid in Indian Wells, California. The first element is the purpose - in drafting a trust document, the purpose that the trust is serving must be articulated.

Second, the trust needs a trustee. The trustee will have possession of the property or money that is being held in trust, and will be responsible for putting it to the use that the creator of the trust intended.

Third, the trust needs to have a named beneficiary. The beneficiary is the person who benefits from the trust.

Finally, and perhaps most vitally, the trust requires a "body." The body of a trust is the thing (usually, but not always, money) that is actually being held in trust, and therefore overseen by the trustee, and used to help the beneficiary.

Can A Indian Wells, California Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While it's fairly easy to list off the basic requirements for a valid trust, actually creating and implementing one can be fairly perplexing. Therefore, you should probably seek the help of an Indian Wells, California attorney if you wish to set up a trust.