In West Palm Beach, 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 many 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 are a trustee, you can permit the beneficiary to access the trust under any conditions you see fit (or make it unconditional, if you want). The point is that, if you make sure the trust agreement is well-constructed, you can help the beneficiary in any way you like, secure in the knowledge that they won't be able (or will find it extremely difficult) to spend it on things you don't approve of.
A trust could, of course, be much more permissive, if the creator of the trust wants it to be. You could set up a trust authorizing the beneficiary to spend as much of the money in it as they like, on anything. Of course, in such a situation, the trust fund might not last very long, especially if the beneficiary is a younger person.
What to Include in Any West Palm Beach, FL Trust
To set up a valid trust in West Palm Beach, Florida, 4 elements are required. First, the trust must have a stated purpose, and this purpose must be clearly laid out in the documents that create the trust.
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.
Fourth and finally, there must be some money or property which is directly going to be held in the trust. This property is referred to as the "corpus" (body) of the trust, and can be just about anything. However, it must truly exist, and it must be identified.
Can A West Palm Beach, Florida Trust Drafting Attorney Help?
While it's fairly easy to list off the basic requirements for a valid trust, actually creating and implementing one can be fairly perplexing. Therefore, you should probably seek the assistance of a West Palm Beach, Florida attorney if you wish to set up a trust.
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