It is an essential matter for us to get our trust and estate management documents in order, especially this is not an easy process as we think about end of life decisions. In its legal definition, trust is when one party holds the property for the benefit of another person. It is simply described as having a 3rd party holding all of your assets, to carry out your wishes and what you want them done after you die, thereby avoiding little to be debated.
In a trust, the properties you can place can be real, tangible and intangible. The person who manages the trust on your behalf is called the trustee. Be informed that you will have to transfer the property you want in the trust out of your personal name, and put into the name of the trust that is managed by the trustee of your choosing. Note that a trustee can be anyone but often times it can be an officer of a bank or financial institution that will take charge with the holding of your property and in the distribution of it.
Note of some advantages in having a trust over a standard will, and one immediate key advantage is that the management plan of our trust and estate is kept private. Be aware that trust documents do not have to be filed with the court in most cases unlike regular probate documents, thus no public records exist having your personal information and what each heir is getting and when in this case.
Another advantage of using trust over a will in having a trust and estate management plan is that the person can plan for mental disability. With this, you and your property will be kept out of a court supervised guardianship, if in the future you will become mentally incapacitated.
By using a trust over a will, your estate does not have to go through a probate process, and this is the biggest advantage of using a trust over a will.
Using a trust is considered also as likely to save your estate money over having a will and going through the probate process.
Nowadays, with the aid of the internet, you can find the best lawyers for your needs as you search through legal services sites, and other sources in finding services of lawyer referral, or by contacting a legal professional association to help you find the best attorneys in your locality.