How to Create a Heritage Trust
One of the primary benefits of creating a trust is that the trust helps avoid probate. Probate is the legal process that takes place when you die and all of your property is distributed by a probate judge according to your will, or if you don't have a will, according to state law. Probate can be stressful and time-consuming for your heirs. It often makes more sense to create a trust if you have property to pass through inheritance. You can use a heritage trust, also commonly referred to as a family or inheritance trust, to efficiently pass property on to your family and heirs.
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Things You'll Need
- Trust form
- Property to place in trust
- Name of trustee
- Name of beneficiaries
Instructions
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Create an Inheritance Trust
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1
Obtain a trust form that you can fill out as you wish. You can get a good form from a local attorney, an online retailer, or by copying a friend's or family member's, as long as they live in the same state as you.
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2
Fill out the trust form according to your own desires and circumstances. You can generally add any provisions and restrictions you want.
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3
Identify a trustee in the trust document. The trustee is the person who will take care of the trust property by managing and investing it, and also making disbursements to the beneficiaries.
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4
Identify the beneficiaries of the trust. You are unrestricted in who you name as beneficiary, and also in how many beneficiaries you name.
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5
Prepare a trust schedule, which is a formal list of all of the property that you want held by the trust. The trust schedule should be referenced in, and stapled to, the trust document.
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6
Prepare documents of conveyance for all of the property you listed on the trust schedule.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want to create a heritage trust for your family and heirs, you should think carefully about all of the beneficiaries you want to list in the trust. When you create the trust you have total control and discretion over who gets what, and according to what terms. For example, if you want to leave some money for your grandchildren, but only if they first graduate from college, you are free to include that limitation.
When you create a heritage trust you transfer legal title to your property to the trustee. This means you no longer are the personal owner of the property. There is always some risk that you may never get that property back if you decide you don't want to use the trust anymore. Be sure you know what you are doing before you transfer any property to your trust.
