What a trust can do for you
A trust is a legal entity that you can create to hold various
types of assets. Simply put, a trust allows you to give up
ownership of assets while you’re still alive, without
giving up control.
Once you transfer your assets to the trust, the trust becomes
their legal owner and the trustee – someone that you
appoint – becomes responsible for managing them.
Part of that responsibility is to distribute the income and
assets of the trust to the beneficiaries – designated
by you – in accordance with the terms of the trust,
which are of course created by you.
A trust is similar to a Will in purpose. Both are designed
to allow you to transfer assets to your heirs and beneficiaries.
But there is a fundamental difference.
With a trust, your assets are transferred to the trust while
you’re alive. With a Will, your assets are transferred
to your estate when you die. With a trust, your assets are
controlled by a trustee, with a Will they’re controlled
by the executor.
The roles of the trustee and executor are similar. They’re
each appointed by you and each are responsible for managing
and distributing your assets to your heirs and beneficiaries.
A trust is a much more powerful legal instrument than an
ordinary Will. And although trusts can have many different
purposes, it’s main advantage over a Will can be simply
stated – it will allow you to maximize the benefits
of your wealth much better than a Will alone can do.
Important information about our financial planning services can be found at the bottom of our
homepage.
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