Careful steps to take in order to establish your Trust

If after careful consideration you have determined that a Trust will help you properly effectuate your estate planning goals the following are some of the steps you will need to take in order to establish your Trust.


Consultation with our firm - In conjunction with any tax, insurance, and financial advisors that you may have, we will need to discuss your situation in order to help you determine what kind of trust meets your needs, and how it can best be structured.

Asset Management - We will need to determine how your assets will be managed during your lifetime. We will need to consider the current income needs and growth objectives for both you and your dependents.

Asset Identification - During the course of our consultation we will help you decide which assets to place in trust. In order to avoid probate, it is important that as many personal assets as possible be placed in trust.

Trust Distribution - You will identify the individuals to whom the trust is to make distributions after your death.

Draft Your Trust Agreement - After we have fully analyzed your estate-planning objectives and your personal intentions we will draft a Trust document that achieves those goals. Our typical revocable living trust agreement covers the following points:

• Instructions for payment of income and principal during the grantor's lifetime and for distribution of assets thereafter.

• A statement of the investment powers granted to the trustee (the person carrying out the terms of the Trust).

• Specification of any additional responsibilities assigned to the trustee

• A statement of the terms under which the trust agreement may be amended or revoked.

Fund Your Trust - In order to make your Trust operative you will need to change the legal title of your specified assets from your name to that of your Trust. Our firm will help ensure that all assets are properly re-registered. Some of the assets that will need to be renamed a placed in the Trust are:

• Convey real estate to be held in trust.

• List all unregistered (bearer) securities on a separate schedule, and assign them to the trust.

• Change the beneficiary of life insurance policies to the name of the trust.

• Attach a schedule of assets to the trust agreement.

If you are in need of immediate legal information, you may find the content located at http://www.rkenneylaw.com/estateplanning.html helpful or you may contact me by email at ray@rkenneylaw.com or call the office at (623) 234-3536.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:

This article is offered for informational purposes only. It is not offered as, and does not constitute, legal advice. You should rely only on the advice given to you during a personal consultation by a local attorney who is thoroughly familiar with state laws and the area of practice pertaining to your matter. The information herein is not legal advice and does not create an attorney client relationship.