Trusts

Sometimes it is not sufficient to simply declare who gets which assets. Trusts are the legal arrangements by which you can specify that your assets will be used in certain ways. Your attorney will help you build a good trust. Advantages to trusts include:

• Privacy: Wills are public documents. Trusts are private documents.
• Tax Advantages: Having your inheritance dispersed to you slowly, over time can create tax advantages over inheriting a large sum of money at once.
• Spendthrift Protection: Trusts can hold money for minors, ensure that the money be used for specific purposes such as college, or otherwise put conditions on how assets are used or dispersed.
• Co-Ownership: Co-ownership of private property can be successfully and more safely achieved through trusts. For instance, this could apply to two non-married people who want to cooperatively buy a house or other major asset for personal use.
• Pension Plans: Pension plans are typically set up as trusts.
• Charities: Charities are often set up as trusts rather than as corporations.
• Asset Protection: Trusts can make your assets private and therefore less vulnerable.

Wills

Let an experienced and attentive attorney ensure that your assets are distributed according to your final wishes. You may believe that your assets will go to your spouse automatically, so you do not need a will. However, a legal will can help protect your spouse's claim to your assets when that claim is contested. In addition, you may still need to declare your final wishes in the event that you and your spouse are simultaneously involved in an untimely incident.

Wills provide peace of mind. It is reassuring to know that the things you worked so hard for in your life will be handled according to your wishes in the future. Having an attorney assist you with this important legal declaration adds to this peace of mind.

Call Jimmie Mack, Jr., CO, LPA to ensure that your wills and trusts are the secure legal documents you need them to be.