Are you wondering why your West Palm Beach probate lawyer seems set on establishing a real estate or special needs trust? Believe it or not more and more people are using trusts to hold theirhomestead real estate and other important assets for their own benefit and the future. If you want to know why check out our quick reference guide to the various benefits of trusts in West Palm Beach.
#1 Real Estate Trusts
- Real estate trusts hold homestead and other real estate property in trust for the benefit of a beneficiary.
- These trusts when revocable will not destroy your homestead protections such as lowered tax rates and foreclosure protection.
- Why hold your real estate in trust?
- If you become incapacitated these trusts act as a quasi power of attorney because the property is already being looked after.
- Also this allows for easy transfer of real estate upon your death.
- Property in a real estate trust is non-probate property and passes outside of your will.
- This means you do not have to wait on the West Palm Beach probate court to pass the property it happens by operation of law.
- What other benefits do trusts provide?
#2 Special Needs Trusts
- If you have a child with special needs in West Palm Beach please listen up.
- Various State and Federal subsidies and grants exist to help those with special needs and disabilities.
- Unfortunately these programs are contingent on a person having little to no assets.
- Although this makes sense it has two problems.
- First of all a special needs person may lose their rights to these benefits following any substantial inheritance because the limits are usually in the low five to six thousand dollar range.
- Also these programs mean that the person cannot elect to save any of their paymentsfor a rainy day because should the assets amount the person will be disqualified.
- This is where a West Palm Beach special needs trust can be a life saver.
- These trusts are drafted in a way to keep the assets from counting in the calculation of the person’s assets.
- Also and equally important aspect of these trusts is it allows you to look after a relative with an intellectual disability without giving them access to the money.
#3 Pour Over Wills
- Pour over wills are another great vehicle (like real estate trusts) to keep your property out of the probate court.
- Normally a trust in Florida does not exist until it is funded with actual property.
- These trusts however are allowed to remain unfunded assuming that they will be funded later by a will.
- These trusts essentially are funded when someone passes away because the West Palm Beach will pours over all the assets into the trust rather then piece meal the inheritance to the various beneficiaries.
#4 Spend Thrift Trusts
- If you worked hard for your assets and you want them to last for generations to come you may be worried about leaving a large sum inheritance to one person or persons.
- You may wonder is this person going to be as astute with these funds as I was?
- This is not an unfair thing to worry about.
- For that reason a West Palm Beach trust may have something known as a spendthrift trust provision.
- These disallow a West Palm Beach beneficiary from taking his trust distributions and assigning them to his creditors.
- Like all other trusts the goal is to protect your wealth, for generations to come.