In Hartsville, South Carolina, a trust is a setup under which property is possessed by one person or entity, to be used for the benefit of another.

A trust can be set up for just about any reason. One of the most common reasons is to ensure that a person always has enough money to avoid going broke, but not enough that they can avoid getting a job, or spend all of the money on things they don't need. This can be accomplished by drafting a trust agreement so that only allows the beneficiary to access a limited portion of the money per week, or per month.

Regardless of the purpose for which you're establishing 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. So, if you want them to only be able to spend it on education, for example, you can do that.

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, especially if the beneficiary is a teenager or young adult.

What to Include in Any Hartsville, SC Trust

To establish a trust in Hartsville, South Carolina, 4 things are required. The first is purpose - the trust must be set up to serve some kind of objective, and it must be clearly stated in the document that creates the trust.

Second, the trust must also 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.

Third, there must be a named beneficiary. This is the person, persons, or entity who is actually benefiting from the trust. This person or entity must be clearly identified, or must be identifiable at some point in the future that can be objectively defined.

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 Hartsville, South Carolina 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 Hartsville, South Carolina attorney specializing in estate planning can be invaluable.