A Trust Helps Your Family Avoid Probate. A Trust Can Also Protect Assets and Facilitate Gifts To Your Family, Charity And Others.
The probate process can cause delays in settling the affairs of your estate, give the public information you want kept private, become emotionally and financially draining for your family and make the loss of a loved one even more difficult. It is never easy for families when a loved one dies. It can be even more difficult when family members are at the mercy of a court to distribute your assets. Orchestrating the settlement of your final affairs in probate court can cause lingering family disputes.
Creating a trust as part of your estate plan can help avoid time consuming, public and costly probate proceedings. Trusts are complex legal instruments which may provide a full spectrum of benefits. In addition to probate avoidance, establishing a trust helps ensure that your wishes are met about privacy with respect to the nature and extent of your estate and the distribution of your estate. Also, your trust can include provisions to safeguard your wealth for use as you deem appropriate for your care during your lifetime and benefit only those you intend as beneficiaries of your estate after your death. Additionally, a trust can address and make provisions for your estate taxes and income taxes.
Serving clients throughout northern Nevada since 1990, attorney J. Robert Parke has extensive knowledge and experience you can rely on. Call his firm at 775-391-6494 to schedule an appointment to discuss your estate planning needs.
Understanding Trusts
Most people find that a trust is an integral part of estate planning. Some people create trusts to make specific provisions to fund a sound education for their children and/or grandchildren. A trust may be helpful to protect assets from creditors or the creditors of other beneficiaries named in a trust. Trusts can also be created to manage estate, gift and income tax consequences.
A trust creates a fiduciary relationship between a grantor (sometime referred to as a settlor, trustor or trustmaker), trustee, beneficiary and the property contained in the trust. A “grantor” is the person who transfers ownership of his or her assets from his/ her name into the name of the trustee of the trust to be held, managed and distributed as directed by the trust agreement for the trust. A “trustee” is a fiduciary charged with the management of trust assets for the benefit of the grantor or any one or more other persons designated in the trust agreement as “beneficiary.”
A grantor may name himself/herself as the trustee for many types of trusts. For some trusts, the grantor should not serve as trustee in order to avoid, for example, adverse tax consequences or to help ensure the asset protection planning intended by the trust. There can be more than one trustee, whether another person or an institution.
The fiduciary relationship between the trustee and the beneficiary of the trust requires the trustee to act responsibly, ensuring the best interests of the trust and beneficiary of the trust are at the forefront of all activity concerning the trust and the trust’s property. If a trustee fails to properly discharge the trustee’s fiduciary duties, the trustee will be held legally accountable.
Contact the Law Office of J. Robert Parke, LLC, for experienced legal counsel with a variety of trust matters, including:
- Revocable living trusts
- Irrevocable asset protection trusts
- Irrevocable life insurance trusts
- Irrevocable spousal lifetime access trusts
- Irrevocable trusts for lifetime gifts to children and/or grandchildren
- Irrevocable trusts to provide for the education of children and/or grandchildren
- Special needs trusts
- Charitable trusts
- Grantor retained annuity or unitrusts
- Qualified personal residence trusts
- Trust reformations
- Trust disputes
- Trust decanting
Attorney J. Robert Parke is a Lead Counsel attorney in estates and trusts who ensures clients receive personalized legal counsel tailored to their individual circumstances.
A Trust Can Provide for Your Family Long after You are Gone
A trust may create a lasting legacy for your family and may accomplish many purposes. It is important to work with a trust lawyer who is knowledgeable and experienced in a range of areas, including relevant taxation matters. In addition to a comprehensive experience in estate and trust law, Attorney J. Robert Parke has an extensive background in accounting, taxation and business matters. Email or call the firm in Reno at 775-391-6494 to schedule an appointment.