In Laurel, Delaware, a trust is an arrangement in which property is held by one person (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).

There are several reasons why a person might set up a trust. A well-managed trust, started with a substantial amount of money, can mature into a sizable college fund for a child. Additionally, if the trust is well-drafted, the beneficiary can be restricted in how they use the money, so they don't waste it.

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 example, you might want to dictate that the beneficiary can only use the money for emergencies, or for basic living expenses. If the trust is carefully drafted, this is completely feasible.

Of course, the trust could also be set up to authorize the beneficiary unfettered access to the fund, or a particular amount of money could be released from the fund to the beneficiary each month, for the beneficiary to use as he or she sees fit.

What to Include in Any Laurel, DE Trust

To establish a valid trust in Laurel, Delaware, 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 needs a trustee. The trustee will have possession of the property or money that is being held in trust, and will be responsible for putting it to the use that the creator of the trust intended.

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

Fourth and finally, the trust must include what is known as the "corpus" or "body." The corpus is the money and/or property which is being held in trust. For a trust to be valid, the corpus must be clearly identified.

Can A Laurel, Delaware 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 difficult. Therefore, it is advisable to contact a brilliant Laurel, Delaware attorney to help you set up a trust.