In Norfolk, Virginia, a trust is a certain method of managing property for the benefit of another person. A trustee is able to possess and, to some extent, control the property. However, the property is owned by the beneficiary, the person for whose benefit the property is being used.
Trusts serve a number of purposes. For example, they can be set up to ensure that the beneficiary (say, a child) will always have enough money to live off of, but will be unable to spend it all on frivolities.
If you want to set up a trust, you can make the beneficiary's use of the property as restricted or as permissive as you like. As a simple example, you might want to dictate that the beneficiary can only use the money for emergencies, or for basic living expenses. If the trust is carefully drafted, this is totally feasible.
A trust could, of course, be much more permissive, if the creator of the trust wants it to be. You could set up a trust allowing the beneficiary to spend as much of the money in it as they like, on anything. Of course, in such a situation, the trust fund might not last very long, especially if the beneficiary is a younger person.
What to Include in Any Norfolk, VA Trust
To set up a valid trust in Norfolk, Virginia, 4 elements are required. First, the trust must have a stated purpose, and this purpose must be clearly laid out in the documents that create the trust.
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, there must be some money or property which is actually going to be held in the trust. This property is referred to as the "corpus" (body) of the trust, and can be just about anything. However, it must actually exist, and it must be identified.
Can A Norfolk, Virginia Trust Drafting Attorney Help?
While the elements of a valid trust are relatively simple and easy to remember, drafting a trust that is sure to be carried out according to the wishes of the person making it can still be complicated. For that reason, a good Norfolk, Virginia attorney specializing in estate planning and the drafting trusts may prove invaluable.
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