How a Trust Can Help You

Perhaps you've already created a will and updated the beneficiaries on your insurance policies and financial accounts. If so, congratulations! You're on the way to a solid estate plan, which can help protect your loved ones' financial security and ensure that your wishes are carried out correctly in the future. But you may have overlooked one powerful tool: a trust. Whether you set up a living trust (takes effect during your lifetime) or a testamentary trust (takes effect after your death), trusts can make it easier to manage and protect your assets.

Avoid Probate

If you die with property titled in your name, it must go through probate, which can cost 4% to 10% of the estate's value, on average. But if you set up a family estate planning trust, the trust would be considered the legal owner of the property for title transfer purposes. You could remain in complete control of the property during your life, and your heirs could avoid the costs, delays and complications of probate after your death.

Protect Your Heirs

Most married couples hold their financial assets as joint tenancy with rights of survivorship. But what happens if one spouse dies and the other spouse, who gains outright control of the assets, eventually remarries? The couple's original heirs might be left out. A family trust can help protect the heirs. It can also prevent the necessity of probate after the death of the surviving spouse.

Prevent Incapacitation Issues

When a property owner or a beneficiary becomes mentally incapacitated, property can get tied up in a legal quagmire. A family trust can help avoid such a situation, with the trustee periodically distributing income from the trust as needed for the care of the beneficiary. In addition to serving as protection in case you or a beneficiary becomes incapacitated, a trust can provide for professional management of funds and assets for minor beneficiaries or people with special needs.

Protect Your Own Interests

Divorce, lawsuits, and fraud can wreak havoc on an estate. For example, if you own a house in joint tenancy with a son or daughter, and your child goes through a divorce or is sued, you could potentially lose the home in the settlement. Or a senior who falls victim to a con artist's scam could be left with nothing. A trust can keep assets safe and provide peace of mind.

We Can Help

Protecting your estate requires a complex strategy. The team of skilled professionals at Rockland Trust can work with you to set up one or more trusts and help protect your interests and those of your heirs.