TRUSTS OFFER MANY UNIQUE ESTATE PLANNING BENEFITS
Many people throughout the United States, including in Virginia, prefer not to think or talk about death. For this reason, estate planning is oftentimes ignored. However, creating wills or living trusts is essential for protecting one’s assets long term. Here is a look at what trusts in particular can do for asset owners.
Setting up a trust involves the execution of a trust deed as well as the transfer of a person’s estate to a selected trustee for the estate beneficiaries’ benefit. Three kinds of trusts are available: a private trust, public trust, and religious or charitable trust. In addition, trusts can be either irrevocable or revocable.
Trusts offer several benefits, with one being that they provide for the management of people’s estates during their lifetimes. They also provide for the management and distribution of a person’s wealth following the person’s death. With irrevocable trusts, people can maintain control of their assets by allowing their appointed trustees to consult them as needed. With revocable trusts, individuals can easily access, as well as control, their assets just as they did before setting up their trusts.
The benefit of a living trust over a will is that it keeps an estate from having to go through the time-consuming process of probate when the estate owner passes away. In addition, living trusts are not part of the public record, so people who use them can keep their estate information private. Also, trusts can be used no matter how large or small a person’s estate may be. An attorney can provide asset owners with the guidance they need to set up trusts in the most personally beneficial manner possible in Virginia.