Your Trust…We Make it Easy!

A Trust is basically nothing more than a contract. The parties to a Trust are the Grantors (the people setting up the Trust . . . you), the Trustees (the people managing the Trust . . . can be you), and the beneficiaries (the people who receive income or other benefits from your Trust . . . typically “you” until you depart this life).
One of the benefits of a Trust is that you can use it as a tool to avoid Probate. If all your assets are included in your Trust, there is nothing that must be distributed through your Will. Therefore, your Will does not have to go through the court system for the property to be distributed. There are many different kinds of Trusts and each has its own benefits. McFather Law Firm will discuss the different types of Trusts that could satisfy your expressed needs and help you select the Trust that is the best fit for you. The only possible disadvantage of a Trust is that it costs slightly more to set up than a Will because a Trust is much more comprehensive. However, setting up your Trust will prove to be less expensive to your family in time, headache and overall cost because it avoids the stress and costs of Probate after you leave this life.
The answer to this question depends largely on the specific type of Trust you select. For instance, a Revocable Living Trust avoids Probate, but does not provide the Trustee (typically you) any asset protection while you are still living. On the other hand, an Irrevocable Living Trust does provide the Trustee (typically you) asset protection while you are still living . . . and, it can be designed to either pay the Trustee (typically you) income from the Trust, if that is what you desire. We are also able to design Trusts that can be used for your family members with “Special Needs”, as well as Trusts to address other property you may own, such as guns or rent houses.
Absolutely. In fact, many of our clients are gun enthusiasts for whom we have crafted personalized Gun Trusts. In fact, some of our clients have requested several different types of Trusts that we design to work together to accomplish their specific needs, such as a Family Trust or an Individual Beneficiary Trust. McFather Law Firm will listen carefully to your goals and objectives, and only then will we offer you our advice as to which type(s) of Trust can best satisfy your specific needs.
We share your concern . . . and that is why we will thoroughly discuss the several options available to you with a Trust. This way, you can choose level of control you have over your assets while still enjoying the advantages of holding your property in Trust.
Every Trust is created with some minimum amount of assets. In some cases, it is simply a small amount of money used to initially fund the Trust. After the initial funding, then other property can be transferred to the Trust or even purchased by the Trust. We will design your Trust Agreement to include specific language providing instructions on when your Trust can terminate, such as when there are no longer enough funds or assets in the Trust to make the Trust economically feasible.
We design a Trust to meet your specific needs. Some of our clients want immediate asset protection. But, in order to have asset protection during your lifetime, we will advise you to select an Irrevocable Living Trust. On the other hand, some of our clients are less interested in asset protection. Instead, they are more interested in using their Trust as a way for their surviving family to avoid the challenges of Probate. Therefore, we will advise you to select a Revocable Living Trust. One caveat is that if you wish for your Trust to hold property for the benefit of your children after your death, then your Trust will become irrevocable when you die, which will result in the asset protection you may be seeking for the property held for your children.
Using a Trust is more comprehensive than a basic estate plan with a Will. The key difference is that a Trust virtually eliminates the need for your surviving family to endure the challenges, inconveniences and costs of Probate. Your Trust will be a personal and private expression of your specific desires and wishes upon your death for the disposition and distribution of your lifetime accumulation of assets. Your personal wishes and business will very likely never be made public. Such is not the case with a Will. With a Will, your estate will need to undergo the very public Probate process.