A trust in Lebanon, Missouri is an arrangement under which property is possessed by one person, but used solely for the benefit of, and legally owned by, another.

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 want to set up a trust, you can make the beneficiary's use of the property as restricted or as permissive as you like. As a simple instance, you might want to dictate that the beneficiary can only use the money for emergencies, or for general living expenses. If the trust is thoroughly drafted, this is entirely feasible.

The trust can also be set up to permit 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, particularly if the beneficiary is a teenager or young adult.

What to Include in Any Lebanon, MO Trust

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

Second, there must be a trustee. This is the individual who will administer the trust, and retain possession of the property or money that it contains, as well as being accountable for utilizing 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. Nonetheless, if the person(s) meant to benefit from the trust do not yet exist, they can still be legitimate beneficiaries, as long as they are part of an identifiable class of people, and can be easily identified if they are born. For instance, you could set up a trust to benefit your grandchildren, even if you don't truly have any grandchildren yet.

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 Lebanon, Missouri Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While it's not difficult to understand the basic requirements of a trust, actually creating a trust can be a bit more complicated. Therefore, it is advisable to contact a reliable Lebanon, Missouri attorney to help you set up a trust.