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

Trusts serve a number of purposes. For example, they can be set up to ensure that the beneficiary (say, a child) will consistently 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 example, you might want to dictate that the beneficiary can only use the money for emergencies, or for basic living expenses. If the trust is carefully drafted, this is completely feasible.

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 permitting 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 Shrewsbury, MO Trust

To set up a valid trust in Shrewsbury, Missouri, 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, every trust, to be valid, has to assign a trustee. This is the individual or other entity (such as a corporation) who oversees the property that embodies the trust. They possess and control the property, and are responsible for seeing that it is used according to the purpose of the trust.

Third, the trust also has to name a beneficiary. This is the person or entity (such as a charitable organization) who is going to benefit from the trust.

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 Shrewsbury, Missouri 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 Shrewsbury, Missouri attorney specializing in estate planning can be invaluable.