Trust Lawyer Serving the North Shore of Massachusetts
Trusts are an important part of estate planning for many who wish to leave high-value assets to beneficiaries after they pass away. Trust assets bypass probate and avoid estate taxes, making them essential for ensuring that your beneficiaries receive their due inheritance in a timely manner.
Call us today at Jordan & White, LLC, at 978-744-2811 for help with trusts or estate planning from an experienced trust lawyer. Our law firm proudly serves clients on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
What Is a Trust?
A trust is a legal document that establishes a third party (the trustee) to legally hold and administer your assets rather than keeping them in your own name. It also serves as a tool to designate beneficiaries and specific distribution instructions for assets during your lifetime and after you pass away. Several types of trusts serve different functions depending on the needs of your beneficiaries.
Some trusts offer asset protection during your lifetime and are particularly useful in protecting your assets if you work in a profession where you may face frequent lawsuits (doctor, engineer, architect, etc.).
Other trusts can help you leave an inheritance for people with special needs who receive government assistance or generation-skipping trusts that allow you to designate a grandchild as a beneficiary rather than your child.
How Are Trusts Useful in Estate Planning?
Establishing a trust rather than a final will and testament can have many benefits. A trust serves many functions after your death, such as:
- Bypassing probate, a lengthy and costly process
- Avoiding estate taxes for trust assets
- Distributing trust funds piecemeal or at certain significant steps
- Funding your favorite charities with a charitable giving trust
- Providing for special needs beneficiaries without affecting their government assistance with a special needs trust
You can add contingencies and other stipulations to your trust distribution instructions. For example, if you have a child with a drug addiction, you could require a monthly drug test before paying a monthly stipend from the trust.
You may also wish to divide payments from the trust in timed increments rather than a lump sum.
For help creating a trust, contact a trust lawyer on our team.
Types of Trusts
You have several options to control your assets, including retirement accounts, real estate, stocks, and more. A knowledgeable trust attorney can help you navigate the complex nature of trusts to determine the best fit for your situation, including:
- Revocable living trust
- Irrevocable trust
- Special needs trust
- Charitable giving trust
- Generation-skipping trust
- Retirement planning trust
- Medicaid planning trust
- Educational trust
Some trusts are irrevocable and will protect the assets within them from creditors, divorce, and other situations while you are alive. On the other hand, revocable trusts are still under your control rather than that of a third-party trustee, meaning they do not offer asset protection.
Contact Our Experienced Estate Attorneys for Estate Planning on the North Shore Massachusetts
For help creating a trust as part of your estate planning in Northeast Massachusetts, turn to our experienced trust lawyer team at Jordan & White, LLC. Call us at 978-744-2811 or contact us online for your initial consultation on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
