Types Of Trusts
A Trust is a legal arrangement under which assets are administered according to rules or instructions. Those who create trusts and write the rules may be called Trustors (or Grantors or Settlors). Those who carry out the instructions are called Trustees, while those who benefit from the use of trust assets are called Beneficiaries. Like wills, trusts guide how, and for whom, assets will be used. The instructions given by a will are only carried out after the person who signed it dies and are usually carried out within a year or so. However, the instructions given to a trustee usually begin sooner and last longer. A trust differs from a will as a movie differs from a snapshot.
Trusts are powerful tools that can be employed in many ways to help protect relationships and assets. We have decades of experience in creating trusts for clients who come to our Delaware office from around the world. Delaware’s legal environment brings many who wish to create trusts to our state, just as it brings in many who wish to create corporations.
As a law firm exclusively focused on estate planning, estate administration and probate, we provide personalized support and guidance. Our team has more than four decades of experience. We bring a family-oriented approach to estate planning.
Our commitment to transparency includes upfront pricing with no hidden costs, making our services affordable and accessible.
Various Concerns Our Trust Lawyers Handle
We strive to clearly explain trust and estate law to our clients. We work with clients to structure trusts to meet their goals.
The trusts we help our clients create include:
We guide our clients through every stage of the trust creation process. In our initial, no-obligation consultation, we will ask questions to help us understand your family, your financial situation, and your objectives. We will then suggest solutions to achieve your goals.
After drafting trusts and other estate plan documents, we explain them to you and to anyone implementing your estate plan as trustees, executors, or agents under powers of attorney. We will provide you with a clear timeline and explain the steps involved, so you will know what to expect. By maintaining open communication, we empower our clients to make informed decisions. We tailor our trust documents to meet the needs and goals of our clients. We do our best to answer questions about the documents we have helped our clients create. We have never charged hourly fees for answering questions.
Advantages Of Trust Planning
Trusts can serve multiple purposes. Common benefits of trust planning include:
- Avoidance of probate: Assets owned by trusts avoid the expense and delay of court-supervised estate administration, a process commonly called probate, because trusts do not die. When a trustee dies, or becomes unable to serve, the trust document names successor trustees who administer trust assets without court involvement.
- Avoiding guardianship: Guardianship is the court-supervised administration of the person or property (or both) of a person who has become disabled, unable to manage independently. The appointment of a guardian is not necessary when a trustee is managing assets and an agent named under a health care power of attorney is making health care decisions for the disabled person.
- Protecting assets: Trusts can protect the assets you leave to your beneficiaries from being lost due to divorce or claims from their creditors.
Trusts cannot solve all problems. Disputes and disagreements happen, but having clear rules to guide those who will administer your assets if you become disabled or die can go a long way to reducing the frequency and intensity of conflicts.
Contact Us Today
All of us will need to have other people to act on our behalf someday, because we are all mortal. If we do not choose executors, trustees and agents to act on our behalf, a court official may choose guardians and personal representatives for us when that day comes. So, when you are ready to consider making an estate plan to deal with that unpleasant reality, let us help you. Contact us at 302-888-2707 or through our online form to set up a no-obligation consultation.