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Family Trusts
A family trust, or inter vivos trust, protects and distributes assets. Trusts safeguard assets from creditors, handle estate taxes, and transmit money to beneficiaries such as spouses, kids, or grandkids.
What are the benefits of having a family trust?
A trust agreement permits a trustee to manage and distribute trust funds to beneficiaries. A trustee distributes trust assets to the rightful heirs.
Family trusts ensure that your assets are managed to benefit your beneficiaries following your desires. Suppose you want to give your children $10 million worth of your assets; having a family trust will let you decide when and how they get their share of your assets. In the trust agreement, you might say they can’t access the funds until they become 18 or 30, get married, or have a child of their own.
Setting up a private family trust will guarantee that your wealth is protected, goes to your set beneficiaries, and prevents public exposure of trust assets. Family trust assets are not part of your estate, meaning no probate fees apply.
How to create a family trust?
A grantor, trustee, and beneficiaries make up a family trust. Grantors create and fund the family trusts. The trustee manages trust assets for heirs. The trust beneficiaries then receive financial benefits.
First, consult an estate planner, financial advisor, or accountant. A specialist can help you evaluate which type of family trust is best for your terms.
As you set up your family trust, you must identify a trustee. You or someone you trust can be the trustee (you can be the grantor and the trustee). You will next determine which family members to benefit from the trust, what assets to give them, and when they can access their trusts.
A family trust can hold tangible and intangible assets like estate, cars, art, collectibles, family heirlooms, bank accounts, stocks, and other assets.
The laws in your state will determine if you need to get your trust documents notarized and registered with the local register of deeds in your area. To make sure you’ve done it right, it’s helpful to check your local laws on family trusts. Otherwise, when it comes time for your heirs to access trust funds, they can encounter problems.
Keeping your wealth in the family may require a family trust. A financial advisor or estate planning attorney can aid with the setup. If you plan to set up a family trust in California, our team of experienced representatives can assist and help you with the overall process of family trusts.