In Bennington, Vermont, a trust is a particular 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 consistently have enough money to live off of, but will be unable to spend it all on frivolities.

If you are a trustee, you can authorize the beneficiary to access the trust under any conditions you see fit (or make it unconditional, if you want). The point is that, if you make sure the trust agreement is well-constructed, you can help the beneficiary in any way you like, secure in the knowledge that they won't be able (or will find it extremely difficult) to spend it on things you don't approve of.

The trust can also be set up to authorize 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 Bennington, VT Trust

There are 4 things that have to be present in every trust for it to be valid in Bennington, Vermont. First, the trust must have a stated purpose. Whatever purpose you intend the trust to serve, you should make it extremely clear when drafting the document.

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 also has to name a beneficiary. This is the person or entity (such as a charitable organization) who is going to benefit from the trust.

Lastly, the trust needs to really be composed of something. A trust document must name the money or property which is really being held in trust, which is recognized as the "corpus" or "body" of the trust.

Can A Bennington, Vermont 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 complicated. Therefore, you should probably seek the help of a Bennington, Vermont attorney if you wish to set up a trust.