A trust in Scituate, Massachusetts 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.
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. Furthermore, if the trust is well-drafted, the beneficiary can be restricted in how they use the money, so they don't waste it.
A trust can be set up to allow the beneficiary to access the money in it under any conditions the person making the trust wishes. For example, the trust could be set up so the beneficiary can only use the money in it for education.
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 allowing 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 Scituate, MA Trust
There are 4 things that have to be present in every trust for it to be valid in Scituate, Massachusetts. First, the trust must have a stated purpose. Whatever purpose you intend the trust to serve, you should make it very clear when drafting the document.
Second, the trust must also name a trustee. The trustee is the person who is actually going to administer the trust, and has possession and control of the property while it is the subject of the trust.
Third, there must be a named beneficiary. This is the person, persons, or entity who is actually benefiting from the trust. This person or entity must be clearly identified, or must be identifiable at some point in the future that can be objectively defined.
Finally, the trust needs to have a corpus, or body. The "body" of the trust is the property that benefits the beneficiary, and that the trustee oversees. Obviously, there can be no trust without something being held in trust.
Can A Scituate, Massachusetts 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 complicated. For that reason, seeking the counsel of a good Scituate, Massachusetts attorney to help you set up a trust is probably a good idea.
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