A trust in Leesville, Louisiana is a legal arrangement for the management of property by one person, 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 person, who benefits from the property.

Trusts can serve any number of purposes. They can be set up to ensure that the child has a college fund, or to see that the beneficiary's basic needs are met, without the money being spent on frivolities.

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. So, if you want them to only be able to spend it on education, for example, you can do that.

Because you, as the trustee, can determine the rules under which the trust operates, you could give the beneficiary the right to access the fund at any time, for any reason, effectively letting them do whatever they want with the money, if that's what you want to do.

What to Include in Any Leesville, LA Trust

To set up a valid trust in Leesville, Louisiana, 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, 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.

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 actually 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 actually exist, and it must be identified.

Can A Leesville, Louisiana 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 complicated. For that reason, a good Leesville, Louisiana attorney specializing in estate planning and the drafting trusts may prove invaluable.