Florida families sometimes come to the conclusion that placing money into a trust for an heir to inherit at a future date is the best move. Given the complications involved in setting up a trust, an estate planning attorney is often needed to draft the trust and to provide legal advice. You have wide latitude in how you may distribute money to heirs through a trust, so it is important that your attorney make your wishes clear while composing your trust documents.
Forbes explains that people can stipulate that a particular family member is to receive the money placed in a trust. Some parents have adult children that are about to get married but do not approve of the child’s fiancé and fear that the new husband or wife might not stay in the marriage. The parents have the option to make the money available to the child alone and not to the spouse so that the spouse does not get a portion of the child’s inheritance through a divorce proceeding.
You also possess the right to restrict how the money in the trust is distributed. Some parents have children that are not yet of legal age and do not want the children to suddenly come into money when they are not ready for it. Parents can instead set benchmarks for when their children can gain access to the money. Some parents stagger the payouts when their children reach certain ages. In some instances, parents also restrict when and how a child can receive money due to a child’s poor spending habits or if the child has problems with alcohol or drugs.
It is important to check over your trust documents to make sure that your trust is as restrictive or as permissive as you want, particularly if the trust is irrevocable, since the trust cannot be changed by you at a later date. Sometimes an estate planning attorney can commit errors in drafting a last will and testament. It can likewise happen with creating a trust. Make sure your estate planning attorney has accurate information and, if necessary, seek legal help if you suspect something is wrong with your estate documents.
This article is only written to provide information about estate planning errors and attorney malpractice. Do not interpret it as legal advice for your particular situation.