In Goodyear, Arizona, 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 prevalent reasons is to ensure that a person perpetually 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 permits the beneficiary to access a limited portion of the money per week, or per month.

Regardless of the purpose for which you're creating 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. Thus, if you want them to only be able to spend it on education, for instance, you can do that.

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 Goodyear, AZ Trust

To set up a legitimate trust in Goodyear, Arizona, 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.

Lastly, and perhaps most especially, the trust requires a "body." The body of a trust is the thing (typically, but not always, money) that is directly being held in trust, and therefore overseen by the trustee, and utilized to help the beneficiary.

Can A Goodyear, Arizona 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 intricate. For that reason, a good Goodyear, Arizona attorney experienced in estate planning and the drafting trusts may prove invaluable.

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