In Carrollton, Texas, a trust is a setup under which property is possessed by one person or entity, to be used for the benefit of another.
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.
Regardless of the purpose for which you're establishing a trust, you can be sure that the beneficiary will only be able to spend the trust fund in ways you approve of. This is because a trust document, at the time of drafting, can place any restrictions or allowances you want on the beneficiary's use of the money. Therefore, if you want them to only be able to spend it on education, for example, you can do that.
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, basically letting them do whatever they want with the money, if that's what you want to do.
What to Include in Any Carrollton, TX Trust
There are 4 distinct elements that must be present for any trust to be valid in Carrollton, Texas. 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 responsible for putting it to the use that the creator of the trust intended.
The third required element to make a valid trust is the beneficiary or beneficiaries. Because a trust, by definition, is set up to benefit someone or something, that entity must be identified in the trust. However, if the person(s) meant to benefit from the trust do not yet exist, they can still be valid beneficiaries, as long as they are part of an identifiable class of people, and can be easily identified if they are born. For example, you could set up a trust to benefit your grandchildren, even if you don't really have any grandchildren yet.
Finally, and perhaps most vitally, the trust requires a "body." The body of a trust is the thing (normally, but not always, money) that is really being held in trust, and therefore overseen by the trustee, and used to help the beneficiary.
Can A Carrollton, Texas 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 confusing. For that reason, a Carrollton, Texas attorney specializing in estate planning can be invaluable.
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