Can You Create a Trust Without a Trust Attorney?
By Barry Zimmer on August 25th, 2016 in Wills & Trusts
If you are going to create a trust, it is important that you talk with a trust attorney. An attorney who helps clients to create trusts will provide you with invaluable advice. Your attorney can help you to determine if a trust is the right legal tool to accomplish your goals. Your lawyer can also help you to make sure you select the right type of trust and that you follow all steps involved in trust creation.
Zimmer Law Firm is focused on providing the assistance that clients need throughout all aspects of the trust creation process. Not only can you talk with an experienced Cincinnati trust attorney when you contact us, but you can also get help from a lawyer with comprehensive estate planning experience.
We can assist you in exploring all of the different legal options, including trusts, which allow you to protect your assets, your autonomy, and your heirs. Give us a call now to find out more.
How a Trust Attorney Can Help You?
A trust attorney provides assistance with everything that you need to know about trust creation. A trust attorney:
- Will advise you on whether you need a trust or not. For some people, other tools like a last will and testament and a power of attorney are enough. For others, a trust is essential.
- Will advise you on different types of trusts. You have choices, including revocable and irrevocable trusts. There are also trusts for specialized situations, like when you have a relative with special needs and want to make a financial gift. Your lawyer will explain all the different kinds of trusts and the features and benefits of each.
- Will assist with creation of the trust document. You want to make sure your trust is legally valid and that it does exactly what you expect it to do. If you make mistakes, this can have serious consequences for you and your heirs.
- Will advise you on selecting a trustee and a backup trustee. In some cases, you can serve as the trustee. In others, you cannot. You need to consider who would be the right person to entrust with handling trust property and overseeing trust administration.
- Will help you with funding the trust. Creating the trust is only part of the process. You also need to decide what assets the trust should own and need to take formal steps to transfer trust assets into the trust.
Attorneys can also provide assistance when a person who has created a trust becomes incapacitated or passes away. We offer advice to trustees, trust administrators, and heirs and beneficiaries about all of their rights and responsibilities in connection with trusts. There is no substitute for getting comprehensive legal advice from a trust attorney.
Why is it Important to Talk to a Trust Attorney
It is vitally important to talk to a trust attorney because you cannot afford to make a mistake during the trust creation process. The features of each different kind of trust can vary substantially and if you make the wrong type of trust, you could end up not getting protections you expect.
For example, if you hope the trust you create will protect you from estate taxes or allow you to qualify for Medicaid to pay for your nursing home, you will be very disappointed if you create a revocable living trust. A revocable living trust will not provide this type of benefit.
When mistakes are made in creating a trust or in funding a trust, the errors often are not discovered until it is too late for them to be corrected. If you need Medicaid to cover a nursing home now, if you are incapacitated, or if you have passed away, it is much too late at this point to go back and create the right type of trust instead of the wrong one.
Contact a Cincinnati Trust Attorney Today
When you use legal tools like trusts, you cannot afford any mistakes. The costs and complexities associated with creating a trust can be daunting to many people, but you need to ensure you are effective in using this powerful legal tool. Zimmer Law Firm can help.
You can join us for a free seminar to learn all about the trust creation process and to find out how trusts fit within your comprehensive estate plan. You can also contact us at 513.721.1513 for personalized advice and assistance creating a trust which will accomplish your goals for the future. Contact us now to learn more.