In Huntsville, Alabama, a trust is an arrangement in which property is held by one individual (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).
A trust can be set up for just about any reason. One of the most frequent reasons is to ensure that a person consistently has enough money to avoid going broke, but not enough that they can avoid getting a job, or spend all of the money on things they don't need. This can be accomplished by drafting a trust agreement so that only authorizes the beneficiary to access a limited portion of the money per week, or per month.
If you are a trustee, you can authorize 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.
A trust could, of course, be much more permissive, if the creator of the trust wants it to be. You could set up a trust permitting the beneficiary to spend as much of the money in it as they like, on anything. Of course, in such a case, the trust fund might not last very long, particularly if the beneficiary is a younger person.
What to Include in Any Huntsville, AL Trust
There are 4 things that have to be present in every trust for it to be legitimate in Huntsville, Alabama. First, the trust must have a stated purpose. Whatever purpose you intend the trust to serve, you should make it extremely clear when drafting the document.
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 accountable for putting it to the use that the creator of the trust intended.
Third, there must be a named beneficiary. This is the person, persons, or entity who is really benefiting from the trust. This person or entity must be precisely identified, or must be identifiable at some point in the future that can be objectively defined.
Lastly, 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 Huntsville, Alabama 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 perplexing. For that reason, a Huntsville, Alabama attorney experienced in estate planning can be invaluable.
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