What Is a Trust?
“Trusts” in the media get a bit of a bad rep. A trust is simply a fiduciary arrangement where a third party, otherwise known as a trustee, holds assets on behalf of beneficiaries.
People often use trusts to control their wealth, protect their legacy, and ensure their estate’s privacy.
If you live in or near McHenry, IL, our experienced estate planning team at Diamond Legal can arrange trusts in many different ways to help meet your needs.
Two Main Types of Trusts
There are many different kinds of trusts.
Some trusts pass your assets onto charity, while others can skip a generation to distribute assets. There are even trusts used to bypass a spouse for tax purposes.
Diamond Estate Planning understands the details of the trusts commonly used for estate planning and can help you determine what is best for your situation.
Regardless of what type of trust you choose, trusts typically fall under two distinct categories: revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts.
Revocable Trusts
A revocable trust is also known as a living trust. It allows you to control the assets transferred into the trust during your lifetime. It is flexible, so you can get rid of it or change it if you want. You can also name someone else to control it if you pass away. A revocable trust is usually used to avoid having to use probate (since assets pass to beneficiaries) or for tax planning.
Trusts
An irrevocable trust takes assets out of your estate, and you cannot change them. The benefit to having this type of trust, though it removes the flexibility of changes, is that it removes the assets from your estate – limiting liability.
Benefits of Setting Up a Trust
A trust grants you ultimate control over your estate and what happens to everything within it after you pass. Here are some benefits of setting up a trust:
Protect your estate’s privacy.
Here in Illinois, you must file your last will and testament with the circuit clerk in the county where you reside when you pass. Because of this, any of the information listed within your will becomes public knowledge. However, this does not apply to a trust, so many families choose to have one. This keeps many details of your estate private – a benefit for McHenry, IL area residents.
Avoid probate, which can go against your wishes and result in additional costs.
If you live in McHenry, IL, and have an estate that is more than $100k, if you pass without an estate, your estate will usually need to go to probate court – which means the courts will decide what happens to your estate. Diamond Legal can make sure your estate plan and trusts are solid so that your business and family can try to avoid the probate process.
Provide for your family, and prevent others from taking a share.
Creating trusts ensures that you can pass what you have to the people you care for. It also prevents the people you don’t want having access to your estate from sneaking their way in. You’ve worked hard for all you have – Diamond Legal can design things to go to the hands you want.
Speak with an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney at Diamond Legal Today
Trusts can be complicated – so you need an experienced attorney by your side. At Diamond Legal, we can create an estate plan that protects your interests so your legacy fulfills all your wishes. Feel free to contact our McHenry, IL office or schedule an appointment online. We look forward to speaking with you.
DISCLAIMER: Any information contained herein is solely for informational purposes. While it is important that you educate yourself, nothing herein should be construed as legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. For specific questions, we urge you to contact a local attorney for advice pertaining to your specific legal needs.
