Friday, May 9, 2014

Information Regarding Asset Protection Trusts

By Tracie Knight


Trusts can be used whether you are considering managing your own assets or if you wish to gain control over how your assets will be handled on your death. You can make use of asset protection trusts to protect your professional and personal assets from creditors. It is a safe way to plan your goals regarding your wealth.

A trust is considered to be a legal entity that holds an asset which will benefit another. Trusts are made up of three parties. The trustor is the person who funds and creates the trust. The beneficiary is the person who will benefit from the trust. The trustee is the person who administers the trust and is bound by a duty to act in the beneficiary's best interest.

A legal document needs to be executed for the creation of this entity. The beneficiary and the trustee are both named in these documents. The agreement contains instructions as to what exactly the beneficiary will receive. It also lists all the duties related to the trustee and stipulates a date or event when the trust will come to an end, among several other stipulations.

The trust may contain any type of asset, including bonds, real estate and stocks. Your reasons for implementing the entity will be the determining factor as to what is placed in it. For example, you may want an entity that is useful for the payment of taxes and other estate duties or for the financial provision of your family when you die. In these cases, it may be necessary to add real estate or a life insurance policy to the entity.

There are many reasons why people make use of these entities. Some of the reasons for this are to minimize estate taxes, protect assets from possible creditors and to preserve assets. You may want to move assets to individuals who fall into a lower income tax bracket. If you want to ensure that your assets remain in your hands, you may consider an asset protection entity.

This is an irrevocable trust that will protect all your assets within it from potential creditors. To establish the entity, you are allowed to transfer certain assets to it. Once the assets have been transferred, it will be protected from future creditors.

The assets that are placed in the entity will still be controlled by you. As the grantor, you are allowed to determine how the assets will be invested. You are allowed to obtain income from it and stipulate distributions to other parties.

In order to offer protection to your assets, you may not have full control over all the assets listed. This does not mean that you will lose control over the economic benefits linked to the property that has been transferred.

You should consult an attorney to find out about the various types of entities. A trust which you refer to in your will is called a testamentary entity. You can make use of a living trust while you are alive. If you wish to have the facility to amend or cancel the entity, you will obtain a revocable version, or if you do not want this facility, an irrevocable entity. Your choice will be wholly dependent on what you currently require and may require in future.




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