In West Hollywood, 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.
A trust can make as many or as few allowances as the person creating it wants. For example, a trust could be set up which permits the beneficiary to spend the money on educational expenses, and nothing else.
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 authorizing 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 West Hollywood, CA Trust
To create a trust in West Hollywood, California, 4 things are required. The first is purpose - the trust must be set up to serve some kind of objective, and it must be clearly stated in the document that creates the trust.
Second, every trust, to be valid, has to assign a trustee. This is the individual or other entity (such as a corporation) who oversees the property that embodies the trust. They possess and control the property, and are responsible for seeing that it is used according to the purpose of the trust.
Third, there must be a named beneficiary. This is the person, persons, or entity who is truly benefiting from the trust. This person or entity must be clearly identified, or must be identifiable at some point in the future that can be objectively defined.
Finally, the trust needs to have a corpus, or body. The "body" of the trust is the property that benefits the beneficiary, and that the trustee oversees. Obviously, there can be no trust without something being held in trust.
Can A West Hollywood, California Trust Drafting Attorney Help?
While the elements of a valid trust are relatively simple and easy to remember, drafting a trust that is sure to be carried out according to the wishes of the person making it can still be intricate. For that reason, a good West Hollywood, California attorney specializing in estate planning and the drafting trusts may prove invaluable.
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