The steps to creating a trust are straight forward and simple - with proper advice from an experienced estate planning attorney. Essentially, there are two steps to creating a trust.
You may be thinking about a Trust but aren’t sure what the process is. An experienced estate planning attorney will explain the process to you, streamline that process, and make it a stress-free experience for you. Most people actually complete the process and breathe a sign of relief knowing that everything is taken care of and their family is now protected.
Attorney Chris Cox offers a free consultation on all estate planning matters. He can answer any questions you may have and determine the most appropriate estate plan for your stage of life. Trusts tend to be an area that causes a lot of confusion, stress and worry for people – and rightfully so. If a trust is not established correctly problems can arise. Anytime someone decides to create a trust, there are always 2 steps in doing so, creating (drafting and signing) that trust, and secondly, funding that trust (retitling assets in the name of your trust).
STEP 1 – Drafting the Trust
Once you’ve decided a Trust is right for you, attorney Chris Cox will spend some time learning about you, your family, and your specific goals and wishes regarding your estate. The information gathered during this conference will shape your estate plan and Trust.
After you’ve given Mr. Cox all the necessary information to draft your trust, he will mail you a draft within 10-14 days. You’ll then have a chance to review it, make any changes you want, or ask any questions about its wording. Some people review the draft quickly while others take a longer period of time. Once a final version of the Trust is approved by you, an appointment will be scheduled where you can come back into the attorney’s office to formally sign the trust and your other estate planning documents before witnesses and a notary public. Once that is accomplished, you will move onto the second step of trust creation - - funding that trust.
STEP 2 – Funding the Trust
Funding a trust means converting all the assets of your estate from your personal ownership to ownership by the Trust, or naming your trust as the beneficiary of a particular asset. This usually entails some legwork on your behalf and means that you’ll need to call your broker, life insurance agent, employee benefits department and make a trip to your bank, Driver’s License Bureau and other financial institutions in order to retitle these assets into your trust or else name your trust as the beneficiary on those accounts. Attorney Chris Cox will help identify which entities you will need to contact and provide the appropriate wording for the change in ownership or beneficiary designation. Our office provides you with assistance throughout this entire process.
Our experience has been that clients determined to put the Trust into effect can achieve full funding of their Trust in about a week or so. Obviously, some of this timing relies on the various businesses making the ownership/beneficiary changes in a timely fashion as well.
Don’t worry . . . funding your trust and retitling assets into the name of your trust does not take control of the assets away from you. You still have complete control over your assets and can do what you want with your money.
In summary, the steps to creating a Trust are simple and can be done within just a few weeks with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney. If you are committed to executing your tasks necessary to create the Trust, your Trust can be completed in less than a month.
If you have questions, need clarity or think you are ready to create a trust, please contact attorney Chris Cox online or call 314-727-0163. We offer a free consultation for all estate planning matters.
