A trust in Oak Forest, Illinois is a legal arrangement for the management of property by one individual, for the benefit of another. In the simplest possible terms, if property is held in trust, it is possessed and controlled by one person, but it is technically owned by another individual, who benefits from the property.

Trusts serve a variety of purposes. For instance, they can be set up to ensure that the beneficiary (say, a child) will perpetually have enough money to live off of, but will be unable to spend it all on frivolities.

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 very challenging) 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 case, the trust fund might not last very long, particularly if the beneficiary is a younger person.

What to Include in Any Oak Forest, IL Trust

There are 4 distinct elements that must be present for any trust to be legitimate in Oak Forest, Illinois. The first element is the purpose - in drafting a trust document, the purpose that the trust is serving must be expressed.

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, there must be a named beneficiary. This is the person, persons, or entity who is truly benefiting from the trust. This person or entity must be precisely identified, or must be identifiable at some point in the future that can be objectively defined.

Finally, the trust needs to truly be composed of something. A trust document must name the money or property which is directly being held in trust, which is identified as the "corpus" or "body" of the trust.

Can A Oak Forest, Illinois Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While its' easy to list the basic elements that need to be present for a trust to be valid, the actual process of setting up a trust can be a little confusing. For that reason, seeking the counsel of a reliable Oak Forest, Illinois attorney to help you set up a trust is probably a good idea.