ARTICLES-STORIES & JUST
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ARTICLES-STORIES & JUST
 Before meeting with your lawyer to create a trust, it should prove helpful to first review the following general legal terms and requirements that govern this effort. Once you understand your duties and the different parties you’ll need to name in the trust, you’ll be better prepared to begin listing the property you wish to transfer through your trust.
Key terms such as grantor, trustee, beneficiary and trust agreement If you’re the party seeking to create a trust, you may be referenced in the trust document as the grantor, settlor or trustor. In order to create a valid trust in Texas, you must have the present intent or goal to create this type of document that allows you to protect property in a trust during your lifetime. Depending on the exact type of trust you create, you may also retain the right to fully control the property during your lifetime – which may include moving specific bits of property it in and out of the trust according to your needs. Among your various duties as the grantor, you’ll need to decide who you want to name as the trustee – or controlling party – of your trust. If you choose to create the type of trust that must be managed and controlled by another party, you’ll have to decide if this should be your lawyer, a family member or another party with strong financial management skills. As the creator of the trust, it will also be up to you to carefully describe all the duties you want your trustee to handle and how you prefer that those duties be carried out. And if you’ve chosen to act as the trustee, you should also name a potential “successor trustee” who can step in and take over if (or when) you become incapacitated — or pass away. Additional requirements that must be met when creating your trust You’ll need to be of sound mind, fully capable of understanding all that you’re trying to do with your property and have a proper legal purpose for the trust. In other words, you’ll just need your lawyer to state the specific type of lawful trust that you’re creating – such as a revocable, irrevocable or spendthrift trust – and which parties will receive the benefit of the properties held within the trust. Texas law also mandates that your trust fully complies with all the requirements of the Statute of Frauds. This basically means that the trust is set forth in writing and is properly executed in full keeping with that statute so that it’s legally enforceable in a court of law. Your Houston estate planning attorney can also explain to you why certain gifts must become vested within set time periods so that they’re not in violation of the Rule Against Perpetuities. Why you may need more than one trust In addition to creating a trust that provides all your property with certain tax advantages during your lifetime, you may also wish to create an educational trust that will benefit your grandchildren or even one to cover the needs of a beloved pet after you pass away. A simultaneous review of your entire estate plan will also benefit you Whether you’re married or single, it’s always wise to carefully review all your assets with your attorney when creating a trust. In some cases, you may even want to go ahead and change how certain property is currently titled and change some investment accounts so that they’ll pay out directly to specific beneficiaries at the time you pass away – thereby lessening the duties of any party you’ve named as your trustee. Please feel free to contact one of our Murray Lobb attorneys so we can create the type of trust you currently need. We’ll also help you review your overall estate plan and provide you with legal advice about the right way to properly manage any property or business interests not currently covered by a trust. CATEGORIESTAX LAW, TEXAS, TRUSTEES, TRUSTSTAGS#CREATINGATRUST, #GRANTORDUTIES, #HOUSTONATTORNEYS, #KNOWLEDGEISPOWER, #MURRAYLOBBATTORNEYS, #REQUIREMENTS, #TEXAS, #TEXASLAW, #TEXASLAWYERS, #TEXASTRUSTS, #TRUSTS, HOUSTON CONTACT US
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