Ontario Trust Attorneys

Help Clients Protect Their Wealth

You worked hard your entire life to provide for your family, and you want to make sure as much of your wealth as possible goes to your family when you are gone. Estate planning now makes things easier for your family later, and trusts are one of the best tools you can use to manage your assets and pass them on to your family.

There are various trusts you can use when planning an estate, and each one has its specific uses, pros, and cons. Trusts allow your family to avoid the probate process, minimize estate taxes, and protect your assets.

B.C. Miles Law Group is here to guide you through each step of the trusts and estate planning process. Our compassionate team of Ontario trust lawyers is here to explain all of your options. Let’s find out how a trust may fit into your estate planning.

If you need immediate assistance, call 909-451-7005 to schedule a free 30-minute consultation.

What is a Trust?

A trust has much in common with wills, but this complicated estate planning tool is essential for protecting your estate and ensuring as much of your wealth as possible passes to your family. Trusts are legal documents that you create and fund with assets and property. Some trusts allow you to maintain access to the assets, change the trust’s terms, and revoke the trust. Others are more rigid, transferring the ownership of assets to the trust. A trust consists of three main parties.

Trustor

The trustmaker, grantor, or trustor is the person who creates and funds the trust with property and other assets. They determine how the trust will be managed.

Trustee

The trustee manages the trust and its assets and distributes them according to the trust’s terms.

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of a trust are the people and organizations that will receive assets from your trust.

There may be some circumstances where the trustor, trustee, and beneficiary are the same person.

What are the Benefits of Creating a Trust?

Trusts offer many estate planning benefits. The laws and regulations that govern trusts can be complicated, and violating them can expose your trust to creditors or lose other benefits they once offered.

The benefits of including a trust in your estate planning include the following:

Avoid probate- Assets held by a trust bypass probate, which is a lengthy and expensive legal process that most estates must go through. Trusts offer privacy to your beneficiaries, while probate is a public process.

Protect your assets- By using certain types of trusts, you can shield assets from creditors and lawsuits.

More control- When you create a trust, you set specific guidelines for how it is managed, how your beneficiaries receive their inheritance, and when assets are to be distributed.

Reduce estate taxes- Properly managed trusts can help minimize the tax burden on your estate, allowing more of your wealth to go to your heirs.

Call 909-451-7005 to speak with our Ontario trust attorneys and learn more about how a trust fits into your planning.

How Does a Revocable Trust Differ From an Irrevocable Trust

There are two types of trust: revocable and irrevocable. Each type has specific uses in estate planning.

Revocable Trusts

A revocable living trust allows you to fund a trust and manage assets during your lifetime. This flexible trust allows you to alter the terms of the trust, withdraw assets from it, and revoke it. Items in your living trust will transfer to your family without needing to wait for probate.

Revocable living trusts don’t really protect assets because you retain control of them.

Irrevocable Trusts

These trusts tend to be far more complicated than their counterpart. This legal arrangement allows you to irrevocably transfer ownership of your assets to the trust. You won’t be able to access those assets, change the terms of the trust, or dissolve the trust.

In exchange, you gain many benefits that can help reduce the tax burden of your estate and protect the assets in the trust. If you have a disabled loved one, you can use a special needs trust to manage their inheritance, allowing you to pass your wealth to them without jeopardizing their eligibility to receive the government benefits that they rely on.

When Should You Speak With a Trusts Lawyer?

You don’t have to wait until you are elderly, sick, or rich to start planning your estate. B.C. Miles Law Group offers a variety of legal services you can use to manage your estate and ensure your assets are available to your family faster than a simple will would allow. We are eager to offer our knowledge and experience to ensure your estate is not only properly managed but also protected. Speak with our team of knowledgeable Ontario trust lawyers.

For help with trusts and other estate planning tactics, contact us at 909-451-7005.