In Cape Coral, Florida, 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. Moreover, 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 entirely feasible.
If you want, you could establish 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 easily spend all the money on some pretty frivolous stuff.
What to Include in Any Cape Coral, FL Trust
To establish a valid trust in Cape Coral, Florida, 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 also 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.
Third, the trust needs to have a named beneficiary. The beneficiary is the person who benefits from the trust.
Finally, and perhaps most vitally, 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 used to help the beneficiary.
Can A Cape Coral, Florida Trust Drafting Attorney Help?
While the elements of a valid trust are relatively 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 Cape Coral, Florida attorney specializing in estate planning and the drafting trusts may prove invaluable.