Do I Need a Trust Attorney?
At some time in your life you may realize that you need to hire a trust lawyer St. Peters, MO families turn to for estate planning. At the Legacy Law Center our legal team understands that this can be an emotionally triggering task. We strive to make our clients feel comfortable and at ease knowing that their loved ones’ futures will be protected. We take great pride in offering quality and professional legal services for those residing in St. Peters and surrounding areas.
A trust lawyer St. Peters, MO community members choose from the Legacy Law Center can set up a trust for you based on your needs and wishes. We can also provide legal services for the person you appoint as your trustee when the time comes. You can even appoint a lawyer from our firm as the executor or trustee of your trust. If you are creating or modifying your trust, you may benefit from hiring a trust lawyer St. Peters, MO locals call from our firm to take care of it for you. It is important to seek council from a professional from the Legacy Law Center to ensure your wishes are carried out.
Reasons to Create a Trust
- Prevent your family from having to go through probate proceedings, saving them time, money, and effort.
- To potentially lower or eliminate taxes on your estate, saving your heirs money.
- Enable you to choose your beneficiaries, what they will inherit, and when.
Below is a list of possible dispute cases in which we can fight to protect your assets in the event they may be at risk. By choosing a trust lawyer St. Peters, MO people recommend from the Legacy Law Center, with the establishment of your trust you can prevent future heartache to your family and other beneficiaries.
1) Breach of Fiduciary Duty
2) Fraud
3) Removal of Trustee
4) True Contests
5) Compelling Trustees to Account
6) Reclaiming Trust Property
7) Omitted Spouses and/or Heirs
8) Appointment of Independent Trustee
9) Violations to Prudent Investor Rule
Establishing a trust can protect your valuables while you are alive and after your passing. By working with a trust lawyer in St. Peters, MO from the Legacy Law Center, you can feel more confident about what will happen with your assets in the future.
It is common to have many questions about the process of establishing a trust. That is where a St. Peters trust lawyer comes in. An attorney from our firm can answer your questions and address your concerns. With one of our compassionate trust attorneys at your side, you can gain a fuller understanding of your estate planning options.
Types of Trusts
While there are a number of different types of trusts, the basic types are revocable and irrevocable.
Revocable Trusts
Revocable trusts are created during the lifetime of the trustmaker and CAN be altered, changed, modified or revoked entirely. An revocable trusts is also often called a living trust. These are trusts in which the trustmaker transfers the title of a property to a trust, serves as the initial trustee, and has the ability to remove the property from the trust during his or her lifetime. Revocable trusts can be extremely helpful in avoiding probate. If ownership of assets is transferred to a revocable trust during the lifetime of the trustmaker so that it is owned by the trust at the time of the trust maker’s death, the assets are often not subject to probate.
Making Changes to Irrevocable Trusts
There are very good reasons for setting up an irrevocable trust, as a trust lawyer St. Peters, MO trusts can attest.
- Putting assets in the trust reduces your potential tax liability.
- An irrevocable trust protects assets from the probate process, thus saving time and sometimes costs associated with going through probate.
- Avoids gift tax on any assets you have that may appreciate
- Property in the trust can be managed by a named trustee thus shifting the responsibility to someone perhaps more knowledgeable in handling your investments.
Because of these advantages, irrevocable trusts are set up to be just that — irrevocable. The grantor, or creator of the trust, cannot remove assets from the trust or make changes the way property is distributed to its beneficiaries. The estate planning attorneys at Legacy Law Center are available to discuss the options when considering an irrevocable or revocable living trust.
What if your situation changes and you want to make adjustments to your irrevocable trust? Life situations happen where you may want to change or modify an existing irrevocable trust. What if you need to change a beneficiary due to changes in the family (death, divorce, birth)? It isn’t easy to do and will require the use of an trust lawyer in St Peters, MO. The key to making any changes is consent.
The laws are different in each state so before moving forward with the idea of change, consult your estate planning attorney for advice on what you can and cannot change in your particular state.
First and foremost, the trustee is the only one who has authority to make any changes. In addition, all the beneficiaries must be in agreement about the change. It can get a bit sticky in circumstances where there may be a falling out with one of the beneficiaries and the grantor of the trust wants to change how much that particular beneficiary receives from the trust. In order to make the change, all beneficiaries must consent.
You cannot make changes to an irrevocable trust if the grantor has passed away or if not all of the beneficiaries consent without a court order. This process is a lot more difficult and can take a considerable amount of time. It is rare for a court to approve any changes to a trust and is only accomplished in conditions where a beneficiary has passed away. The courts are not apt to approve changes after the grantor has passed away because they feel it takes away from the original intent of the trust when it was created by the grantor.
Another way to change an irrevocable trust is to remove the assets from the trust and creating a new trust with the different terms. This is called decanting a trust. Each state has their own set of laws concerning trust decanting so be sure to discuss this with your St. Peters trust lawyer.
The decision to change an irrevocable trust can be complicated and you need to understand if there are any unintended tax implications or other unexpected considerations. If you have questions about a trust or need assistance with estate planning, consider contacting the qualified estate planners at Legacy Law Center. Learn more about How Can I Change a Trust After My Spouse Has Died?
Legacy Law Center: Your Choice for Estate Planning
We are available to take your call and your first consultation with one of our attorneys is free. Give us a call today to speak with a knowledgeable trust lawyer St. Peters, MO loved ones rely on from the Legacy Law Center by calling our office today.
How to Determine If You Need a St. Peters, MO Trust Lawyer
The process of creating a trust is generally quite simple, and particularly in someone’s waning years, they create this type of document to ensure that they have protected their assets and that they have the right people in line as their beneficiaries. Thus, when the creator of this trust passes away, the process for transferring assets to beneficiaries should be simple. When everything is in writing and the trustor has signed the trust, how can you argue with it?
In fact, there are many reasons someone may argue with a person’s trust, many issues may arise, whether it is through suspected fraud, elder abuse, or through difficult family issues. If you want to be best prepared when trust issues arise, you may need to seek help from a trust lawyer in St. Peters, MO you can count on.
Four Reasons You Should Hire a St. Peters, MO Trust Lawyer
When your loved one’s trust become confusing, it is best to work with someone who can understand the legal jargon and help you when things become heated.
- You and other beneficiaries disagree on the trustor’s wishes. Unfortunately, it is not unheard of for family members to disagree on who should inherit certain items. Even if a trust leaves behind certain assets to specific people in the family, or especially if the assets are left to people who are outside the family, some beneficiaries may begin wondering if fraud has occurred. In this case, a trust lawyer can help you determine if the trust is legally binding or not.
- The trustor created the trust through fraud or undue influence. Sadly, many people are more than willing to take advantage of an elderly person who is creating a trust. If you have reason to believe that the creator of the trust was coerced into creating or changing a trust, was not of sound mind when they created it, or that someone else entirely is responsible for altering it, your trust lawyer can help you prepare a case and determine the next best steps.
- A trustee disagrees with the terms of their assets. When a trust has multiple trustees, disputes can arise about how to best maintain control of the assets, leading to serious arguments. When this is the case, you should retain a trust lawyer in St. Peters, MO.
- One or more of the trustees is acting unlawfully. There are some instances where a trustee may be acting unlawfully, for example, if the trustee is also a beneficiary. This can lead the trustee to be biased about how they should distribute assets. When this is the case, your trust lawyer can help show ways the trustee may be violating the terms of the trust.
Clearly, there are several ways that someone can violate a person’s trust. When this happens, it is best to speak with a trust lawyer to determine how best to proceed with legal action regarding trust. For more information or to set up your initial appointment with one of our trust litigation attorneys, call the trust lawyer St. Peters, MO clients recommend at Legacy Law Center now.
The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
A trust lawyer St. Peters, Missouri residents choose from Legacy Law Center can create a trust on your behalf that suits your needs. Unless you’re already familiar with how various trusts work, you may have some questions about irrevocable trusts and how they work. A St. Peters trust lawyer from our firm can sit down with you and review all of your trust options and address questions specific to your estate. Learn about The 5 Steps After a Person Passes Away.
Life Insurance Policies
Anything you place in an irrevocable trust cannot be changed, modified or removed from the trust. This includes a life insurance policy. Why place a life insurance policy in an irrevocable trust?
If your life insurance payout will be a substantial sum of money, your heirs can avoid estate taxes by placing the policy in a life insurance trust. With an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) the death benefits are paid to the trust and not directly to the heirs. Therefore, the proceeds from the insurance policy are not included in the taxable estate of the individual who passed away. This is how it escapes an estate tax. There are additional benefits as well:
- If any of the beneficiaries are ever involved in a lawsuit, creditors will not be able to access any assets that reside in the ILIT, because theses assets are not considered to be owned by the beneficiaries.
- This trust can also be used to manage fund for minors or adults that you do not trust to property handle the funds themselves. The trust selects a trustee to oversee the funds and carry out the terms as they were designed by the creator of the trust.
- The ILIT can also contain provisions as to the use of the proceeds. These include an option to purchase assets from the estate, or create a conventional income amount or a one time sum to the beneficiaries.
Gifting Money to the ILIT
The owner of the trust can gift money to the trust to cover the cost of the premiums of the life insurance policy. The policy can be canceled if the grantor stops gifting money to the ILIT to cover the cost of the premiums. However, if the policy has generated a cash value, that money cannot be recovered. A trust lawyer St. Peters, Missouri community members rely on may suggest that this is an important consideration when deciding if this type of trust is right for you.
Your existing life insurance policy can be gifted into this trust; however, there may be tax implications when doing this, so please contact a trust lawyer St. Peters, Missouri families trust from Legacy Law Center to discuss any potential complications.
Choosing a Trustee
How do you select a trustee for the ILIT? A trust lawyer St. Peters, Missouri locals recommend can provide you with guidance. It is important to choose an individual you feel will carry out the responsibilities including the following:
- Establishing the trust account
- Choosing the insurance company and the appropriate policy
- Collecting the gifts from you to cover the premiums
- Apprising the beneficiaries of the gifts
- Take care of the paying the premiums of the policy
Legacy Law Center: Your Choice for a Trust Lawyer in St. Peters, Missouri
A financial advisor can may provide the guidance you need when choosing and establishing a trust. Call 636-486-2669 today to speak with a respected trust lawyer St. Peters, Missouri offers from the Legacy Law Center.
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