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

Trusts can serve any variety of purposes. They can be set up to guarantee 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.

A trust can make as many or as few allowances as the person creating it wants. For instance, a trust could be set up which authorizes the beneficiary to spend the money on educational expenses, and nothing else.

Because you, as the trustee, can decide the rules under which the trust operates, you could give the beneficiary the right to access the fund at any time, for any reason, basically letting them do whatever they want with the money, if that's what you want to do.

What to Include in Any Placer County, CA Trust

There are 4 distinct elements that must be present for any trust to be legitimate in Placer County, California. The first element is the purpose - in drafting a trust document, the purpose that the trust is serving must be stated.

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 accountable for putting it to the use that the creator of the trust intended.

Third, there must be a named beneficiary. This is the person, persons, or entity who is really benefiting from the trust. This person or entity must be precisely identified, or must be identifiable at some point in the future that can be objectively defined.

Fourth and finally, the trust must contain what is known as the "corpus" or "body." The corpus is the money and/or property which is being held in trust. For a trust to be legitimate, the corpus must be precisely identified.

Can A Placer County, California Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While its' easy to list the basic elements that need to be present for a trust to be valid, the actual process of setting up a trust can be a little difficult. For that reason, seeking the counsel of a seasoned Placer County, California attorney to help you set up a trust is probably a good idea.