Instead of selecting a specific person as beneficiary to my estate, how do I just set up a Trust just in my name?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Instead of selecting a specific person as beneficiary to my estate, how do I just set up a Trust just in my name?
What are the ramifications of doing this? My estate includes insurance, retirement money, material position (furniture, jewelry, car, etc).
Asked on May 17, 2013 under Estate Planning, California
Answers:
Nathan Wagner / Law Office of Nathan Wagner
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
To set up a valid trust, you must designate a beneficiary (or beneficiaries) for the trust. You can be the trust's only beneficiary during your lifetime, but you will still need to identify another beneficiary for after that. So you can't really avoid selecting a person (or people) as heirs to your property after your death by just setting up a trust.
Trusts can be good estate planning tools for many people. One benefit can be avoiding the time and expense of probate court. You can set up your own trust by yourself, but one size does not fit all. It is easy to make mistakes that will cost you or your heirs a lot of time and money. It is a good idea to talk to a lawyer about your estate plan.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.