In Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 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 consistently have enough money to live off of, but will be unable to spend it all on frivolities.

Regardless of the purpose for which you're creating a trust, you can be sure that the beneficiary will only be able to spend the trust fund in ways you approve of. This is because a trust document, at the time of drafting, can place any restrictions or allowances you want on the beneficiary's use of the money. Therefore, if you want them to only be able to spend it on education, for instance, you can do that.

If you want, you could formulate a trust with no restrictions on how much money the trustee can spend from the trust, and let the beneficiary spend all the money on whatever they'd like. If this is what you want to do, that's fine- but if the beneficiary is a young adult with spendthrift habits, you obviously might want to take into consideration the fact that they could quickly spend all the money on some pretty frivolous stuff.

What to Include in Any Canonsburg, PA Trust

There are 4 things that have to be present in every trust for it to be legitimate in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. First, the trust must have a stated purpose. Whatever purpose you intend the trust to serve, you should make it extremely clear when drafting the document.

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.

The third element is a beneficiary. The beneficiary is a person or entity who the trust is constructed to benefit. Although a beneficiary has to be named, they don't really have to exist at the time the trust is written. For example, if a person sets up a trust to benefit his or her grandchildren, and doesn't yet have any, the trust is valid. If and when their grandchildren are born, the rights that the trust creates will vest in them immediately.

Finally, the trust needs to really be composed of something. A trust document must name the money or property which is really being held in trust, which is recognized as the "corpus" or "body" of the trust.

Can A Canonsburg, Pennsylvania 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 intricate. Therefore, it is advisable to contact a seasoned Canonsburg, Pennsylvania attorney to help you set up a trust.