In Cherokee, Arkansas, 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 common reasons is to ensure that a person always 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 allows the beneficiary to access a limited portion of the money per week, or per month.

A trust can make as many or as few allowances as the person creating it wants. For instance, a trust could be set up which allows the beneficiary to spend the money on educational expenses, and nothing else.

If you want, you could formulate 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 Cherokee, AR Trust

To formulate a legitimate trust in Cherokee, Arkansas, 4 elements must be present. The first element is purpose - the property being held in trust must be there for a reason. Your trust can serve just about any lawful purpose you can think of.

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

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 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.

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 Cherokee, Arkansas 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 difficult. For that reason, a Cherokee, Arkansas attorney experienced in estate planning can be invaluable.