In York, 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 allow 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.

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 York, SC Trust

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

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.

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

Can A York, South Carolina Trust Drafting Attorney Help?

While its' easy to list the basic elements that need to be present for a trust to be valid, the actual process of setting up a trust can be a little perplexing. For that reason, seeking the counsel of a reputable York, South Carolina attorney to help you set up a trust is probably a good idea.