Trust Lawyer
Preparing your estate for division among any beneficiaries after your death can be challenging. While planning for the future can be helpful for both you and your loved ones, you may also not be sure where to begin. Understanding the steps to the setting up of certain restrictions, such as a discretionary trust, can help you feel more at ease as you create any type of will that details the handling of your estate.
- Learn the Facts
A discretionary trust allows you to place regulations on the distribution of certain assets and for certain individuals within your will. For example, if you want to leave your granddaughter a sum of $5,000 but she is still a minor, you can set up the restriction that she cannot have access to the funds until she is 21. The use of this kind of trust allows you to safeguard your benefactors even after you are no longer living.
- Learn About Distribution Choices
One of the advantages of a discretionary trust is that you can employ it in a variety of ways to suit your estate’s needs. There are not many restrictions for the individual creating the trust or trusts, which means that you can use more than one within your will to place restrictions or caveats on more than one inheritance. Age, spending limits, and the circumstances under which inheritance money can be used are all factors you can include when creating this trust.
- Make a List of Your Wishes
Before you create discretionary trusts within any kind of will, it is important that you draft a list of your wishes first. Create a listing of your benefactors, the amount each will receive, what kind of restrictions you want to include, and the reasons for them. This can help you prepare for a meeting with an attorney and make the drafting of your will more efficient.
- Find an Attorney
While you can include a variety of provisions within your discretionary trust, it is wise to draft your will with the help of an attorney to ensure all your benefactors’ assets are protected. Consider contacting a lawyer or law firm that is experienced with these trusts so they cannot be altered after your death or by certain life events that might affect family members included in the will.
Including discretionary trusts in your will can protect your loved ones from making poor financial choices and prevent them from losing their inheritance due to divorce or bankruptcy. Contact an attorney today to learn more about how these types of trusts might benefit you.
Source: Sacramento Trust Lawyer, Yee Law Group