Trust Lawyer O’Fallon MO
A trust is an agreement that governs how a person’s property should be managed and distributed both during their lifetime and upon their death. The person who creates the trust is usually referred to as the settlor, grantor, or trustor. Title to the trust is usually held by the trustee, who manages its assets. The settlor may serve as trustee during his or her lifetime, but upon their death, someone else may be appointed as trustee.
A beneficiary is a person who receives income or principal from the trust. Again, this may be the settlor during his or her lifetime, but may change to someone else upon the settlor’s death. Trusts can be complicated and difficult to understand, which is why you need the help of a trust lawyer O’Fallon MO residents can trust to offer them patient, compassionate and reliable trust advice and assistance.
Types of Trusts
Sometimes trusts are formed for the sole purpose of governing the management and distribution of one’s assets after one’s death. For instance, someone might want to establish a trust to perform a specific task or fulfill a charitable objective with one’s estate or assets after they die.
Trusts can also be formed during a settlor’s lifetime. These trusts are called living trusts. Although it may seem odd that one would create a trust to manage assets during their lifetime rather than simply deciding how to manage them themselves, there are various benefits to doing so.
In some cases, living trusts may be irrevocable, meaning that they may not be altered or changed. These are most common in non-living trusts but may be used in living trusts as part of a negotiated agreement between two or more parties. For instance, a husband and wife may create a trust to manage and distribute their joint income which they want to be irrevocable to protect each of their individual interests.
On the other hand, revocable trusts provide security and consistency in the management of one’s assets, without being entirely permanent and set in stone. This allows a settlor to take into account possible changes in circumstances such as marriage, divorce, death, disability or any other unforeseen situation and leave open the possibility of changing their trust accordingly.
At Legacy Law Center you can find a trust lawyer O’Fallon MO clients can count on to help them choose the best option to best meet their needs.
What Are the Benefits of a Trust?
A trust offers protection, consistency, and security for your assets. It allows you to regulate monthly or annual expenses and ensure that you are keeping within a guideline or budget that you have planned carefully. It can provide you with financial oversight and support from those you trust and who have financial knowledge, and it can make sure that your assets are spent on the things that you believe most essential and important. This can be particularly valuable in old age as we may become less vigilant of our financial affairs.
Furthermore, a trust can help greatly as a tool for estate planning for asset distribution after death. Not only can trusts help you reduce or control estate tax charges upon death, but they can help to ensure that your assets are protected and maintained during the interim process of estate windup and distribution – something which can take longer than one expects.
In order to reap the full benefits of a trust as an estate planning mechanism, you need a trust lawyer in O’Fallon MO to create an accompanying pour-over will which can name your trust as the principal beneficiary of your estate. Your estate can then be distributed according to the specifications of your trust.
Does a living trust offer more privacy than a will?
Our team at the Legacy Law Center is here for you and your family. If you would like to safeguard your family’s future and pass on your legacy in a meaningful way, we can help. For years, the Legacy Law Center has provided estate planning legal services for families in the O’Fallon, MO community. We invite you to give us a call and discuss how our trust attorney can help you. A living trust is an ideal solution for many—learn if it may be of benefit to you as well.
How does a will become public?
Upon someone’s passing, the person who is in charge of their will must file it with the deceased’s local probate court. Though the contents of the will may not require that the estate passes through probate, the will may still need to be filed with the court. Our trust lawyer O’Fallon MO can provide you with guidance as to what exact steps must be taken and if your circumstances warrant any exceptions to the rule. If you fail to file the will with the probate court as required, you may be subject to a fine.
After the will is filed with the probate court it automatically becomes a permanent matter of public record and is viewable to anyone who seeks that information. In this way, the world can learn which assets went to which persons and when the distribution of those assets occurred.
Does a trust remain private?
Unlike a will, under no circumstances does a trust have to be filed with a probate court before or after the trustor’s passing. This is because the probate court does not handle the trust—the trust creator’s designated trustee distributes the trust’s assets. There is no need for the trustee to seek any type of approval or permission from the court. There are many advantages to trusts, and privacy is one. Talk with an O’Fallon MO trust lawyer to learn about other reasons to consider creating one.
Are there required disclosures?
Regardless of whether a person writes a will or creates a trust (usually in conjunction with a will), there are some details that state law may require be made available to certain persons. Specifically, after the trust creator’s passing, the trustee may be legally obligated to provide copies of the trust’s documentation to the trust’s beneficiaries upon request. Your trust lawyer O’Fallon MO can clarify if this is necessary under your circumstances or if beneficiaries only have the right to view the trust’s information that directly pertains to their inheritance. Additional close relatives, whether they inherited assets or not, may also have the legal right to obtain a copy.
What if real estate is included in the estate’s assets?
Real estate ownership is always a matter of the public record, even when the property owner inherited it via a trust inheritance. This is because real estate ownership is registered in the property’s land records office and the information is available to public viewing.
To learn more about the benefits of creating a trust, contact our trust attorney to schedule a consultation.
Contact Us Today!
If you need the help of a qualified O’Fallon trust lawyer, then Legacy Law Center can provide you with the advice, guidance, support, and assistance that you need – both in the creation of your trust and later in its maintenance. Call today to arrange a consultation with the most reliable trust lawyer O’Fallon MO provides and to find out how you can protect your assets and legacy both during your lifetime and beyond.
