In Port Arthur, Texas, a trust is a setup under which property is possessed by one individual or entity, to be utilized for the benefit of another.
You might want to set up a trust for a wide number of reasons. It can be set up to guarantee that a child will have money for college, for instance, and that the child will only be able to use the money for that purpose.
If you want to set up a trust, you can make the beneficiary's use of the property as restricted or as permissive as you like. As a simple instance, you might want to dictate that the beneficiary can only use the money for emergencies, or for general living expenses. If the trust is thoroughly drafted, this is completely feasible.
If you want, you could implement a trust with no restrictions on how much money the trustee can spend from the trust, and let the beneficiary spend all the money on whatever they'd like. If this is what you want to do, that's fine- but if the beneficiary is a young adult with spendthrift habits, you obviously might want to take into consideration the fact that they could quickly spend all the money on some pretty frivolous stuff.
What to Include in Any Port Arthur, TX Trust
There are 4 distinct elements that must be present for any trust to be legitimate in Port Arthur, Texas. The first element is the purpose - in drafting a trust document, the purpose that the trust is serving must be stated.
Second, there must be a trustee. This is the individual who will administer the trust, and retain possession of the property or money that it contains, as well as being accountable for utilizing it to effectuate the trust's purpose.
The third element is a beneficiary. The beneficiary is a person or entity who the trust is constructed to benefit. Although a beneficiary has to be named, they don't really have to exist at the time the trust is written. For example, 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 really be composed of something. A trust document must name the money or property which is really being held in trust, which is recognized as the "corpus" or "body" of the trust.
Can A Port Arthur, Texas Trust Drafting Attorney Help?
While the elements of a valid trust are fairly 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 complex. For that reason, a good Port Arthur, Texas attorney experienced in estate planning and the drafting trusts may prove invaluable.
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