A trust in Highland Park, Michigan 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.

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

A trust can be set up to authorize the beneficiary to access the money in it under any conditions the person making the trust wishes. For instance, the trust could be set up so the beneficiary can only use the money in it for education.

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

What to Include in Any Highland Park, MI Trust

To set up a legitimate trust in Highland Park, Michigan, 4 elements are necessary. First, the trust must have a stated purpose, and this purpose must be precisely laid out in the documents that formulate the trust.

Second, the trust must further name a trustee. The trustee is the person who is really 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 really 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.

Lastly, 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 Highland Park, Michigan 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 complex. For that reason, a Highland Park, Michigan attorney experienced in estate planning can be invaluable.