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

You might want to set up a trust for a wide variety of reasons. It can be set up to ensure that a child will have money for college, for example, and that the child will only be able to use the money for that purpose.

If you are a trustee, you can authorize 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.

The trust can also be set up to authorize the beneficiary to spend as much of the money in it on anything they like. Of course, few people do this, because the trust isn't likely to last very long under such an arrangement, especially if the beneficiary is a teenager or young adult.

What to Include in Any Burley, ID Trust

There are 4 things that have to be present in every trust for it to be valid in Burley, Idaho. First, the trust must have a stated purpose. Whatever purpose you intend the trust to serve, you should make it extremely clear when drafting the document.

Second, there must be a trustee. This is the person who will administer the trust, and retain possession of the property or money that it contains, as well as being responsible for using it to effectuate the trust's purpose.

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 Burley, Idaho 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 perplexing. For that reason, a Burley, Idaho attorney specializing in estate planning can be invaluable.