In Walla Walla, Washington, 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.
A trust can make as many or as few allowances as the person creating it wants. For example, a trust could be set up which authorizes the beneficiary to spend the money on educational expenses, and nothing else.
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 permitting 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 Walla Walla, WA Trust
There are 4 things that have to be present in every trust for it to be valid in Walla Walla, Washington. 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.
Second, the trust must also name a trustee. The trustee is the person who is really 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. However, if the person(s) meant to benefit from the trust do not yet exist, they can still be valid beneficiaries, as long as they are part of an identifiable class of people, and can be easily identified if they are born. For example, you could set up a trust to benefit your grandchildren, even if you don't really have any grandchildren yet.
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 Walla Walla, Washington 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 convoluted. For that reason, seeking the counsel of a brilliant Walla Walla, Washington attorney to help you set up a trust is probably a good idea.
Mr. B. is a terrific lawyer and I am extremely happy with his work. What I liked most about him was his timely responses. I highly recommend Mr. B..