In Richlands, Virginia, a trust is a specific method of managing property for the benefit of another person. A trustee is able to possess and, to some extent, control the property. Nonetheless, the property is owned by the beneficiary, the person for whose benefit the property is being used.

Trusts serve a variety of purposes. For instance, they can be set up to ensure that the beneficiary (say, a child) will perpetually have enough money to live off of, but will be unable to spend it all on frivolities.

If you are a trustee, you can permit 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 very challenging) to spend it on things you don't approve of.

Because you, as the trustee, can decide the rules under which the trust operates, you could give the beneficiary the right to access the fund at any time, for any reason, essentially letting them do whatever they want with the money, if that's what you want to do.

What to Include in Any Richlands, VA Trust

To set up a legitimate trust in Richlands, Virginia, 4 elements are necessary. First, the trust must have a stated purpose, and this purpose must be precisely laid out in the documents that formulate the trust.

Second, the trust must further name a trustee. The trustee is the person who is truly going to administer the trust, and has possession and control of the property while it is the subject of the trust.

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. Nonetheless, if the person(s) meant to benefit from the trust do not yet exist, they can still be legitimate beneficiaries, as long as they are part of an identifiable class of people, and can be easily identified if they are born. For instance, you could set up a trust to benefit your grandchildren, even if you don't truly have any grandchildren yet.

Fourth and finally, there must be some money or property which is directly going to be held in the trust. This property is referred to as the "corpus" (body) of the trust, and can be just about anything. But, it must truly exist, and it must be identified.

Can A Richlands, Virginia Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While it's not difficult to understand the basic requirements of a trust, actually creating a trust can be a bit more complicated. Therefore, it is advisable to contact a reliable Richlands, Virginia attorney to help you set up a trust.