In Cottage Grove, Oregon, a trust is a setup under which property is possessed by one individual or entity, to be utilized for the benefit of another.

Trusts serve a variety of purposes. For instance, they can be set up to ensure that the beneficiary (say, a child) will always have enough money to live off of, but will be unable to spend it all on frivolities.

If you are a trustee, you can allow the beneficiary to access the trust under any conditions you see fit (or make it unconditional, if you want). The point is that, if you make sure the trust agreement is well-constructed, you can help the beneficiary in any way you like, secure in the knowledge that they won't be able (or will find it very challenging) to spend it on things you don't approve of.

The trust can also be set up to allow 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 Cottage Grove, OR Trust

To formulate a legitimate trust in Cottage Grove, Oregon, 4 elements must be present. The first element is purpose - the property being held in trust must be there for a reason. Your trust can serve just about any lawful purpose you can think of.

Second, the trust must further 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.

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 actually have any grandchildren yet.

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. But, it must actually exist, and it must be identified.

Can A Cottage Grove, Oregon 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 perplexing. For that reason, a Cottage Grove, Oregon attorney experienced in estate planning can be invaluable.