The Law Offices of Mark L. Hoffman offers trust services, whether it is drafting living trusts, special needs trusts or irrevocable living trusts, to ensure clients’ assets are protected. Contact us.
A Living Trust is a legal declaration to yourself or to another person that creates an entity – a Trust, to manage your assets. The terms of the Trust specify your predetermined objectives for the assets that are placed in the Trust. The person declaring the Trust is typically the initial trustee. A person may change or revoke most Trusts at any time.
Trusts are not just for wealthy individuals. Trusts can provide many benefits that have nothing to do with your financial status. For example, a Trust can hold assets for children until they reach an age when they are mature and responsible. Without a Trust, a Guardian must be appointed by the Probate Court. The Court-appointed Guardian must distribute assets at age 18 whether your child is ready or not. The top 4 advantages of Trusts are:
- Planned control for asset management, use and distribution.
- Avoiding the hassle and expense of Probate.
- Gaining privacy, as Trusts are private agreements. The assets in a Trust are typically not made public.
- Avoiding tax. Trusts can permit the lawful deferral or avoidance of death taxes.
Most Living Trusts are written to keep assets with a family’s bloodlines. Trusts also are used for special needs children or adults, life insurance, property investments and charitable purposes.
Many Trusts give a Trustee unsupervised power. You must be completely confident in the persons or entities that you designate. If this is the case, we can help you make your Trust more secure.
