In West Des Moines, Iowa, a trust is an arrangement in which property is held by one person (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).

You might want to set up a trust for a wide variety of reasons. It can be set up to ensure that a child will have money for college, for example, and that the child will only be able to use the money for that purpose.

If you are a trustee, you can allow the beneficiary to access the trust under any conditions you see fit (or make it unconditional, if you want). The point is that, if you make sure the trust agreement is well-constructed, you can help the beneficiary in any way you like, secure in the knowledge that they won't be able (or will find it extremely difficult) to spend it on things you don't approve of.

The trust can also be set up to allow the beneficiary to spend as much of the money in it on anything they like. Of course, few people do this, because the trust isn't likely to last very long under such an arrangement, especially if the beneficiary is a teenager or young adult.

What to Include in Any West Des Moines, IA Trust

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

Second, there must be a trustee. This is the person who will administer the trust, and retain possession of the property or money that it contains, as well as being responsible for using it to effectuate the trust's purpose.

The third element is a beneficiary. The beneficiary is a person or entity who the trust is designed to benefit. Although a beneficiary has to be named, they don't actually have to exist at the time the trust is written. For instance, if a person sets up a trust to benefit his or her grandchildren, and doesn't yet have any, the trust is valid. If and when their grandchildren are born, the rights that the trust creates will vest in them immediately.

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 Des Moines, Iowa Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While the elements of a valid trust are fairly simple and easy to memorize, drafting a trust that is likely to be carried out according to your wishes can be fairly complicated. For that reason, a West Des Moines, Iowa attorney specializing in estate planning can be invaluable.