Estate planningTrusts |  |
Trusts serve a variety of purposes. Some are created to
hold, manage and distribute property. Others may be created to
avoid probate or save on taxes.
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A trust often makes sound financial sense as it can help
ease the burden of managing your assets (including your investment
portfolio), even after disability or death. A trust may also
contain provisions for the care of your children in the way you
choose, not the way someone else decides. It can help both
simplify the administration of your estate's assets
(including the regular payment of taxes) and strengthen your
beneficiary's claim to disputed property.
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A trust creates a legal arrangement between the person
who establishes it (the creator or grantor), the manager of the
trust's assets (the trustee) and the person or organization
that benefits from the trust (the beneficiary). It can be
established in one of two ways:
| - Testamentary, which is created by your Will, funded by
your estate and administered by a trustee named in your Will.
- Inter vivos (or living), meaning that it is created
while you are alive and usually set up to manage assets or
transfer property outside the probate process. It may or may not
have tax advantages and can be either revocable or irrevocable.
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A trust gives you control of the trust's income and
enables the transfer of property to your beneficiaries.
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Setting up a trust can be done at any time. It is often
one of the legal arrangements considered during the financial
planning process. If you don't already have a plan developed,
contact a financial advisor to help get you started. To create a
trust, you will need to contact a lawyer.
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