In Stone Mountain, Georgia, 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.

Regardless of the purpose for which you're establishing 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 example, you can do that.

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 Stone Mountain, GA Trust

To set up a valid trust in Stone Mountain, Georgia, 4 elements are required. First, the trust must have a stated purpose, and this purpose must be clearly laid out in the documents that establish the trust.

Second, every trust, to be valid, has to assign a trustee. This is the individual or other entity (such as a corporation) who oversees the property that embodies the trust. They possess and control the property, and are responsible for seeing that it is used according to the purpose of the trust.

Third, the trust also has to name a beneficiary. This is the person or entity (such as a charitable organization) who is going to benefit 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 Stone Mountain, Georgia Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While the elements of a valid trust are fairly simple and easy to memorize, drafting a trust that is likely to be carried out according to your wishes can be fairly difficult. For that reason, a Stone Mountain, Georgia attorney specializing in estate planning can be invaluable.