Trust Funds, or Trusts, can have outstanding benefits for yourself and your family. There are several different types of trusts which can often make the set-up process fairly complicated. However, once you understand exactly why you want one in the first place, you will begin to understand which one is more relevant to your requirements.
One of the greatest benefits of a trust is the control and flexibility it offers. For example, if your beneficiary is poor at managing money and often makes bad financial decisions, you as the settlor has the option of disbursing the funds in smaller instalments rather than one lump sum, so that they cannot spend the money all at once. In addition, you can state how you would or wouldn’t like the money to be spent, such as healthcare or education. If you have a charitable inclination, a charitable trust is an excellent way to donate anything from money to real estate to an organisation.
Another convenient aspect of the trust is that it means you can avoid going through probate. A trust allows your inheritors to sidestep this process and ensures they will have timely access to your wealth. You will save substantially, not only in terms of time, but also in costs and paperwork. It is also a more private process.
If anyone happens to be displeased with the distribution of your assets and decides to challenge it, a trust provides you with greater protection against legal action than a will. A trust will also protect yours assets beyond the reach of creditors, in the case of a divorce, for instance.
Trusts are worth considering no matter what your financial position or stage of your career. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions and would like some further information.