In Sumter, 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.

Trusts can serve any number of purposes. They can be set up to ensure 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 example, the trust could be set up so the beneficiary can only use the money in it for education.

Because you, as the trustee, can determine 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 Sumter, SC Trust

To establish a valid trust in Sumter, 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 ensure that the money is only used for the purpose of the original trust agreement.

Third, the trust needs to have a named beneficiary. The beneficiary is the person who benefits from the trust.

Fourth and finally, the trust must include what is known as the "corpus" or "body." The corpus is the money and/or property which is being held in trust. For a trust to be valid, the corpus must be clearly identified.

Can A Sumter, 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 help of a Sumter, South Carolina attorney if you wish to set up a trust.