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

Trusts can serve any variety of purposes. They can be set up to guarantee that the child has a college fund, or to see that the beneficiary's basic needs are met, without the money being spent on frivolities.

A trust can be set up to authorize the beneficiary to access the money in it under any conditions the person making the trust wishes. For instance, the trust could be set up so the beneficiary can only use the money in it for education.

Because you, as the trustee, can decide the rules under which the trust operates, you could give the beneficiary the right to access the fund at any time, for any reason, basically letting them do whatever they want with the money, if that's what you want to do.

What to Include in Any Summerville, SC Trust

To formulate a legitimate trust in Summerville, South Carolina, 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.

The second required element is a trustee. The trustee's job is to supervise and manage the money that makes up the trust. They are also required to take reasonable efforts to guarantee that the money is only utilized for the purpose of the original trust agreement.

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

Lastly, and perhaps most especially, the trust requires a "body." The body of a trust is the thing (normally, but not always, money) that is really being held in trust, and therefore overseen by the trustee, and utilized to help the beneficiary.

Can A Summerville, South Carolina Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While it's fairly easy to list off the basic requirements for a valid trust, actually creating and implementing one can be fairly confusing. Therefore, you should probably seek the guidance of a Summerville, South Carolina attorney if you wish to set up a trust.