A trust in Springfield, Illinois is a legal arrangement for the management of property by one person, for the benefit of another. In the simplest possible terms, if property is held in trust, it is possessed and controlled by one person, but it is technically owned by another person, who benefits from the property.
Trusts serve a number of purposes. For example, they can be set up to ensure that the beneficiary (say, a child) will always have enough money to live off of, but will be unable to spend it all 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 allows the beneficiary to spend the money on educational expenses, and nothing else.
Because you, as the trustee, can determine the rules under which the trust operates, you could give the beneficiary the right to access the fund at any time, for any reason, effectively letting them do whatever they want with the money, if that's what you want to do.
What to Include in Any Springfield, IL Trust
To create a trust in Springfield, Illinois, 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, 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.
Fourth and finally, the trust must include 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 valid, the corpus must be clearly identified.
Can A Springfield, Illinois 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 Springfield, Illinois attorney specializing in estate planning can be invaluable.
Mr. B. is a terrific lawyer and I am extremely happy with his work. What I liked most about him was his timely responses. I highly recommend Mr. B..