What A Sacramento Trust Lawyer Can Do For You

When you’re ready to make a trust, contact the Yee Law Group for a Sacramento trust lawyer who is happy to work with you. Our legal team has helped many Sacramento area residents who recognize the importance of making a trust.

A Sacramento trust lawyer can help you create a trust that reflects your needs and wants for what happens to your assets after you pass. Our legal staff understands the peace of mind gained from setting up a legally binding trust. If you have questions about this process or would like to make an appointment with one of our trust lawyers, contact our office today for an appointment. The following guidelines and information may be helpful to you in the meantime.

Avoid Probate with a Trust

Probate is a legal process that involves the court and transfers the ownership of your assets after your passing. The process can be time-consuming and expensive for your heirs. A common way of avoiding probate is to place one’s property into a trust. A Sacramento trust lawyer can review with you all of the advantages and disadvantages of a trust. Here are the common reasons why many people choose to have a trust:

Irrevocable and revocable trusts can avoid probate.

Putting one’s property into a trust can prevent it from going through probate. Having a trust in place allows your survivors to avoid the expense of going through probate. Everyone’s situation is different, so talk to a Sacramento trust lawyer from the Yee Law Group to find out if a trust is the right solution for you.

Trusts Offer Privacy

If you would like to protect your privacy and your family’s privacy regarding your estate after your passing, a trust can do this for you. If privacy is important to you, be sure to share this with your trust lawyer in Sacramento. While the probate process is public, trust property remains private. Your designated trustee and the trust’s beneficiaries may be the only ones who can have access to information about your estate.

Control Your Assets After Your Death

When you bequeath your assets to beneficiaries through a will, they may receive those assets immediately after you pass on. By using a trust, the beneficiaries can receive your assets over a period of time. This can be useful if you want your beneficiaries to first reach a certain age or milestones in their life. Your designated trustee can manage and control your assets until they distribute them to the beneficiaries. Speak to a Sacramento trust lawyer to learn more about the various kinds of trusts available to choose from:

Minor’s trusts

Spendthrift trusts

Special needs trusts

 A Trust Lawyer Can Help You

For many people, determining what happens to their property after they pass is very important to them. To make sure that your wishes are legally binding, it’s important to have a legal representative file the necessary paperwork. Call us today at the Yee Law Group to speak with a Sacramento trust lawyer.

Discretionary Trusts – What You Need to Know

As you prepare for the future, you may wonder whether creating a trust could improve the lives of your beneficiaries. You might also wonder how best to protect your assets so that your loved ones can benefit from them to the fullest extent possible after you’re gone. Depending on your circumstances, an experienced Sacramento trust lawyer from Yee Law Group may recommend that you consider a discretionary trust as part of your broader estate plan.

What Is a Discretionary Trust?

There are various types of trusts that individuals and couples can create for their family members and other beneficiaries. A discretionary trust is one of those types. A trustee manages the beneficiaries’ assets, dispersing them at the times the settlor previously determined. What’s different between this and a typical trust is a discretionary trust is more protected because it is to be used at the settlor’s discretion, so the beneficiary doesn’t have total access to the assets all at once. You may work with an experienced Sacramento trust lawyer to better ensure that the terms of your discretionary trust make sense for your goals and your beneficiaries. If you have a loved one who tends to be impulsive with money, struggles with addictions, doesn’t have excellent financial management skills, etc. this kind of trust may be an especially great option for you.

How Are They Made?

There are two ways a settlor can create a discretionary trust. The first is during the time he or she is alive. He or she will write the Trust Deed, sign it then have the trustee sign it. The assets will then be held in a trust under the trustee’s name.

If the settlor includes a discretionary trust as part of his or her will, assets will be placed in a trust until he or she dies. According to the terms laid out in the will, the trustee will assume responsibility for the trust after the settlor passes away. Most settlers will also include a Letter of Wishes so the trustee knows exactly how he or she wishes the trust to be dealt with. Your Sacramento trust lawyer can help you explore whether it may make more sense for you to create a living or testamentary trust.

Why Should You Use a Discretionary Trust?

If you’re looking ahead to the financial futures of your loved ones, you may have some concerns. A discretionary trust is just one way you and your Sacramento trust lawyer can ensure the money you leave to your beneficiaries doesn’t get squandered, lost or stolen. The following are some ways you can use a discretionary trust to benefit your loved ones.

Tuition – If you have children or grandchildren who are attending college or who will be in the future, you could designate the trust money to be dispersed only as college tuition after the beneficiary graduates from high school.

Disabilities – A beneficiary who receives disability benefits cannot be denied certain benefits because of the money you leave behind since he or she isn’t absolutely entitled to all of it at any given time.

Divorce – If your loved ones are or will be going through a divorce, a discretionary trust saves that money from being granted to the ex.

Charitable Trusts

One of the tools that people have available to them when it comes to estate planning is charitable trusts. Charitable trusts are trusts that are set up in order to benefit some sort of charity or to be used for a charitable purpose. It is important to keep in mind, however, that there are limits to what a charitable trust can do. A Sacramento trust lawyer from Yee Law Group can help.

In order to set up a charitable trust, the charity you choose to donate to must be one that is approved by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The charity itself will be acting as the trustee and will manage or invest the assets or property placed in the trust in order to produce an income. The charity may pay the person who set up the trust a percentage of the income that is made from the trust over a timeframe that the two parties have agreed upon. When the person who establishes the trust dies, then the charity becomes the owner of the assets and/or property that is contained in the trust.

What Are the Benefits of Establishing a Charitable Trust?

As a Sacramento trust lawyer can explain, when property is moved into a charitable trust, the trust is allowed to sell that property without having to pay taxes on any capital gains there may be if the property appreciated over the time it was first purchased. Any proceeds from the sale of the property can stay in the trust and those proceeds are also not taxed. Any income tax deductions that are available for the property can be taken by the charity. That deduction is determined by the IRS based on the value of the property and the amount of income received on that property.

Although the tax benefits of a charitable trust are very attractive, there is another reason why charitable trusts are favored by many people and this is because these trust give the person the ability to do something good for an organization. But a Sacramento trust lawyer will also explain that charitable trusts are irrevocable. This means that once a person sets up a charitable trust, they are unable to cancel or change the trust. So, while the person who set up the trust can still obtain an income from the trust for the rest of their life, the contents of the trust cannot be sold or given to an heir. The charity will become the owner of the property of the trust when the person dies.

A Sacramento trust lawyer understands that there are management and administration expenses associated with a charitable trust that should be covered by the trust contents. Many financial professionals recommend that the amount of assets placed in a charitable trust should be worth at a minimum $500,000.

To learn more about how a charitable trust can benefit your estate plan, call Yee Law Group Inc. to meet with a seasoned Sacramento trust lawyer.

Common Myths About Trusts

Establishing a trust can offer many advantages for you and your family. However, before you create a trust, it is important to understand the ins and outs of it. Here are some common myths about trusts that you should not believe:

Trusts are just designed for the rich. Many people are under the impression that trusts are only for wealthy individuals. This just is not true. Trusts can offer advantages for people with average incomes too.

Trusts always help you avoid probate. In many cases, you can skip probate if you have trust. However, if your trust is not created properly, you may still have to go through probate. If you have certain assets that are not in the trust, they will have to go through the probate process. That is why it is critical to have an experienced Sacramento trust lawyer help you set up your trust.

Trusts are too expensive to set up. Some people are reluctant to establish trusts because they think they are too expensive. It is true that it costs more to set up a trust than a will. However, a trust may help you save more money in the long run. For example, it can help save money on taxes.

Trusts don’t offer benefits for grantors. Another myth about trusts is that they only offer benefits for beneficiaries. Although they can help beneficiaries receive their inheritances faster, trusts also offer benefits for grantors while they are still alive. For example, it can provide protection if the grantor becomes physically or mentally disabled during his or her lifetime. 

Trusts are just for married couples. Trusts are certainly a beneficial tool for married couples. However, that does not mean single individuals can’t benefit from them too. A trust can help single people ensure that their beneficiaries receive their inheritances as intended. 

How a Trust Can Help a Special Needs Child

If you have a special needs child, you want to make sure he or she is taken care of after you’re gone. It can be especially beneficial to establish trust. Leaving your assets directly to a special needs child can prevent him or her from receiving Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. On the other hand, if you set up a special needs trust controlled by another person, your child can still receive the benefits.

Mistakes to Avoid When Establishing a Trust

A living trust is an important estate planning tool that comes with many benefits. However, if you make even one mistake, your trust might not do what you intend it to. Here are some common mistakes you should avoid when establishing a trust.

• Failing to transfer assets to trust. A living trust is designed to distribute assets to your beneficiaries after your death. However, if your trust is not properly funded, it won’t be able to do this. It is important to transfer title to the asset to your trust by filing the appropriate documents.
• Not appointing the proper successor trustee. When creating a trust, it is important to designate a successor trustee. This person is responsible for managing your trust if you should become incapacitated during your lifetime. As such, you want to appoint someone who is trustworthy, organized, honest and impartial. If you don’t think anyone in your family is up for the task, it may be necessary to appoint a third-party.
• Not appointing backup beneficiaries. It is certainly unpleasant to imagine the death of your loved ones. However, when you are setting up a trust, it’s important to be logical. If one of your beneficiaries happens to die, the trustee will not know what to do with his or her assets. That’s why it is wise to appoint backup beneficiaries in your trust. 
• Thinking you can establish a trust by yourself. Although there is DIY software for trusts, you should avoid establishing a trust without professional help. Trusts are complicated legal documents and may include language that you don’t fully understand. If you make an error, your trust will not be valid. It is worth the money to hire an experienced Sacramento trust lawyer. He or she will make sure that your trust is valid and reflects your wishes.
• Failing to update your trust. It is likely that you will need to update your trust at least once in your lifetime. For example, if you get a divorce or your financial situation dramatically changes, you may need to review your trust. If you neglect to make updates, your trust may not function like you intended.
• Not providing clear instructions. When creating a trust, don’t forget to provide clear instructions, like how you want your trust to function and whom your assets should go to.