The majority of New Jersey families may not think they could benefit from having a trust. However, a trust can be an invaluable estate planning tool for any family. Trusts come in all shapes and sizes depending on the needs of the party executing the trust.
For instance, a person wants to leave money and/or assets to someone they care about, but know that person isn’t qualified or capable of handling the responsibilities that come with the inheritance. Most likely, no parent in New Jersey would leave an inheritance directly to a minor child. Putting the assets in a trust until the child reaches an age specified in the trust can help preserve them for the future.
If the intended heir is married, putting assets into a trust can ensure the heir’s spouse will not reach them in case the couple gets divorced. On the other hand, if the intended beneficiary is not good at managing or investing money using something called a “spendthrift” trust can limit the access that person has to the assets. Simply put, a trust can be drafted to cover any number of eventualities.
Estate planning can be as simple or complex as is necessary to achieve the goals of the person making the estate plan. There are numerous types of trusts that can be used in a variety of ways to achieve nearly anyone’s goals. In addition, a trust will keep the assets it holds from having to go through probate, which can be helpful to the beneficiary of the trust since he or she will not have to wait until the probate court allows the assets to be distributed to benefit from them.
Source: Fox Business, Is a Trust Right for You?, Libby Kane, Oct. 25, 2013