In Wilmington, Delaware, a trust is an arrangement in which property is held by one individual (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).
There are numerous 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. Furthermore, 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 instance, you might want to dictate that the beneficiary can only use the money for emergencies, or for general living expenses. If the trust is thoroughly drafted, this is totally feasible.
If you want, you could implement 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 Wilmington, DE Trust
There are 4 distinct elements that must be present for any trust to be legitimate in Wilmington, Delaware. The first element is the purpose - in drafting a trust document, the purpose that the trust is serving must be articulated.
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, the trust needs to have a named beneficiary. The beneficiary is the individual who benefits from the trust.
Lastly, and perhaps most notably, the trust requires a "body." The body of a trust is the thing (usually, but not always, money) that is actually being held in trust, and therefore overseen by the trustee, and utilized to help the beneficiary.
Can A Wilmington, Delaware 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 complicated. For that reason, a good Wilmington, Delaware attorney experienced in estate planning and the drafting trusts may prove invaluable.
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