Polk County Trust Attorneys You Can Trust

Many people include a trust in their estate plan with a last will and testament. Although trusts are often associated with the ultra-wealthy, they are common in average-sized estates. At Mint Law Firm, we recognize that establishing a trust is a powerful tool for managing and protecting your assets, ensuring your wealth is passed on according to your wishes. Whether you are planning for the future, minimizing estate taxes, or safeguarding assets for your beneficiaries, our experienced attorneys provide tailored legal solutions to meet your unique needs. We offer expert guidance through the complexities of trust creation, ensuring that your trust is legally sound, fully aligned with your goals, and structured to provide maximum benefit to you and your loved ones. With Mint Law Firm by your side, you can be confident that your trust will be crafted with precision and care.

What Is a Trust

A trust is a document that transfers ownership of assets from one individual, the grantor, to another individual, the trustee. In exchange, the trustee has a fiduciary responsibility to distribute the trust’s assets according to the provisions.

This concept can be hard to understand, so let’s use a real-life example:

Let’s say jewelry, many of us own some jewelry, which we often keep in a box for safekeeping. This is similar to how trusts work. Now, imagine taking that jewelry box and giving it to a lifelong trusted friend or relative for safekeeping. This friend or relative promises to keep your jewelry safe and only return it to you when you ask. So, this is the basic structure of how a revocable trust operates. In this example:

• You: Are the grantor;
• Your trusted friend/relative: Is the trustee;
• The jewelry: Is your asset that is to be held in trust;
• The jewelry box: Is the trust itself, which retains title and ownership over the jewelry;
• The explicit promise to return the jewelry: These are the terms of the trust to follow.

The above is just one example of one type of trust. There are myriad ways to structure a trust, each with advantages and disadvantages. Creating a trust is often more complicated than a last will. However, a trust can afford the grantor significant advantages that a last will simply cannot offer.

Roles of Trusts Attorneys

A trusts attorney, also known as a trust lawyer, specializes in the legal aspects of creating and managing trusts. They provide a range of services designed to help clients effectively manage their trust assets and achieve their estate planning goals.

• Trust Creation
  • Trust attorneys help clients establish various types of trusts, including revocable living trust, irrevocable trust, charitable trust, and special needs trusts. These trusts can serve different purposes, such as managing assets, minimizing estate taxes, or providing for loved ones with special needs.

• Trust Administration
  • Trust attorneys guide clients through the administrative aspects of managing a trust. Some include helping the transfer of assets into the trust, ensuring compliance with trust terms, and managing ongoing trust obligations.

• Tax Planning
  • Trust attorneys offer advice on how to structure trusts to minimize estate tax liabilities. This helps maximize the value of the assets transferred to beneficiaries.

• Legal Advice
  • Trust attorneys provide legal counsel on trust-related matters, such as selecting trustees, drafting trust documents, and understanding the legal implications of trust provisions. They ensure that the trust complies with state and federal laws.

• Dispute Resolution
  • Trust attorneys assist in resolving disputes arising among beneficiaries or between trustees and beneficiaries. They work to ensure that the trust is administered according to the settlor’s wishes and resolve any conflicts that may impact the trust’s effectiveness.

• Modification and Termination
  • Trust attorneys help clients modify or terminate trusts if circumstances change, such as changes in family dynamics or financial situations. This ensures that the trust continues to meet the client’s needs and goals.

• Estate Planning Integration
  • Trust attorneys are also estate planning attorneys who works closely with clients to integrate trusts into their overall estate plan, coordinating with other estate planning documents like wills, powers of attorney, and advanced directives to create a comprehensive plan.

Trusts Can Save Time and Money

One of the main reasons someone may choose to create a trust is that the property put into the trust avoids probate in its entirety. Avoiding probate can provide two potential advantages: time and money.

Probate is the court-supervised administration of an individual’s estate following their death. The probate process is created and dictated by Florida state law, and its purpose is to transfer assets from the deceased individual to the beneficiaries. The probate process can take time. Even when someone passes with a last will in place, the court retains a limited role in overseeing the distribution of those assets and settling of the estate. This process can take several months in the best scenarios, resulting in the delayed transfer of the deceased’s assets to the beneficiaries.

Most personal representatives will also hire legal counsel to help supervise the deceased’s estate. Filings need to be made, creditors need to be paid, and estate taxes (yes, even after death) still need to be filed. Depending on the size and complexity of the estate, along with the personal representative’s time commitment and overall understanding of both the process and the estate itself, legal and probate court fees can slowly start to compound. The estate generally pays for these expenses. The amount distributed to the beneficiaries is affected.

Trusts are not considered part of the estate because it’s the trust – not the deceased – who owns the assets. As such, the assets included in a trust avoid probate entirely. Instead, a trust can name a beneficiary that, upon death, assumes ownership of the assets contained therein. No court involvement or approval is needed, and any legal fees associated with the transfer of these assets are going to be a fraction of what they otherwise would have been in probate.

Trusts Can Shield Assets From Creditors

Depending on the structure and terms, trusts can be a shield to creditors during a lifetime and after death.

Florida probate law requires that a deceased person’s liabilities, including outstanding loans, notes, taxes (such as estate taxes), and liens, be paid before any distribution to beneficiaries. Estates where the liabilities exceed assets can result in a double blow. First, is the loss and grief associated with the passing of a loved one. Second, is the depletion of their assets and possessions to satisfy the outstanding debt and taxes owed by that individual.

As explained above, assets in a trust are legally owned by the trust. If the trust is structured and funded correctly, the assets within will not be subject to court-supervised probate, avoiding it entirely. In the example above, where a decedent’s liabilities surpass the estate, a trust could operate to preserve the assets contained within from creditors, allowing for the transfer to a beneficiary when they otherwise would have been subject to payment by the estate in probate.

Trusts can operate similarly during an individual’s lifetime, shielding assets from creditors while living. For example, irrevocable trusts are a tool used to hedge against the cost of long-term healthcare. Medicaid covers the cost of long-term healthcare, but only if it meets certain income and asset criteria. Until then, the individual is solely responsible for the costs. And until Medicaid takes over payments, the hard-earned assets will bear the burden of the exorbitant cost of the care. This can significantly shrink the estate, sometimes leaving hardly anything for beneficiaries, no matter the intent.

Although an irrevocable trust has constraints – primarily the inability to access those assets during the grantor’s lifetime – because those assets are owned by the trust and not the individual, Medicaid will not consider them when calculating eligibility requirements. So, in this example, the irrevocable trust is a very powerful tool during the grantor’s lifetime. It has: (1) qualified the individual for Medicaid earlier than they otherwise would have; (2) preserved their hard-earned assets; (3) will allow for the immediate transfer to a named beneficiary upon death; and (4) will not be considered part of the estate, providing a second shield against creditors post-death.

Trusts Offer Flexibility That Wills Simply Cannot Provide

Unlike a last will and testament, which transfers assets upon an individual’s death without the ability to provide detail on how those assets will be distributed in the medium to long term, a trust can provide additional control that not only dictates the amount of assets a beneficiary will receive but also when or under what circumstances are they to be distributed. This unique level of control that a trust offers allows an individual to influence the beneficiaries long after the creation of the trust and even after the grantor’s death.

For example, the grantor can state that a beneficiary shall not receive an asset until a specific time when they believe it more appropriate. Frequently, this is a strategy used when concerns arise regarding the potential age of a beneficiary (minors). A trust can also dictate the amount and/or how payments are made. A trust can require that certain conditions be first met before a limited distribution. For instance, a grantor may construct a trust that distributes half of the assets once the beneficiary graduates college and the other half once they have placed an offer on a house. Setting conditions for distribution allows the grantor to continue to control their money after death, ensuring that they use the assets the way they want to.

A trust can be particularly useful if the grantor is concerned about providing long-term support for a family member or loved one with special needs. Appropriately called a Special Needs Trust, the individual with special needs is named as the beneficiary, and because they do not legally own the assets contained within, they can receive government benefits for long-term care. Here, the flexibility of the trust again serves as a powerful tool. It (1) preserves the assets; (2) avoids probate and potential creditors; (3) names a competent individual to manage the assets; (4) allows the special needs individual to receive long-term care from the government; and (5) provides additional support for the named beneficiary. Most importantly, it has provided peace of mind to the parents that their loved ones will be taken care of even when they are no longer here.

Trusts Are Not Part of the Public Record

A key advantage of a trust is that it provides the grantor with additional privacy that a last will and testament alone does not offer. In Florida, once you file a last will with the court during the probate process, it becomes part of the public record that can be viewed by anyone interested in viewing it. In contrast, a trust remains a private legal document throughout the administration of an estate. This can be valuable for individuals who would like to keep the details of the estate’s assets a secret or who would like to keep their specific instructions private.

Experienced Trust Attorneys in Polk County Can Assist

Estate planning and, in particular, creating a trust can be a complicated process. Thus, it is wise to work with an attorney experienced in the construction of trusts to guide you through its creation and ensure that the vision for your legacy is honored. Mint Law Firm has attorneys on staff with decades of experience in trusts and specialized LLM (Master of Laws) degrees in estate planning. The attorneys at Mint Law have reviewed and created countless complicated trusts over their lengthy careers. Our legal professionals understand how to personalize a trust for you that will protect your assets, ensure that your family is provided for, and ensure that your legacy and influence continue long after you are no longer able to physically interact with your loved ones.