Menu
HARIK MINASSI COALE
  • About
    • Team
      • Patricia Harik
    • Affiliation
  • Services
    • Accounting Services
    • Financial Planning
    • Business Consulting
    • Tax Strategies
  • Resources
  • Payments
  • News & Updates
  • Contact
  • About
    • Team
      • Patricia Harik
    • Affiliation
  • Services
    • Accounting Services
    • Financial Planning
    • Business Consulting
    • Tax Strategies
  • Resources
  • Payments
  • News & Updates
  • Contact

Trusts: What You Need to Know

2/13/2019

 
​You may be thinking of creating a trust to help manage your assets — or maybe you don't even know how a trust could help. Here is a basic overview of trusts:
  • A trust is created by you, the grantor. You write the rules governing how the trust will operate — what it will do and how and when to do it. Trusts are commonly created to provide support, education, asset protection, tax planning or charitable giving.
  • Trusts can be revocable — you'll be able to change the rules at any time. But trusts can also be irrevocable, meaning you cannot change the rules.
  • You appoint a trustee, who will have the job of managing the trust and its assets. You may appoint yourself as the trustee. Trustees follow the trust's rules. There are some trusts that allow the trustee to use discretion in some matters.
  • The trust receives gifts from a donor — and that can be you, too. You may permit your trust to receive gifts from others in addition to you or instead of you. Gifts can include cash, stocks, bonds, property or other types of financial assets.
  • Your trustee collects the gifts and invests the money according to the rules of the trust; for example, the recipient gets the money after college graduation. You may stipulate a yearly income from the trust.
  • The trust has three things — the principal, which is the money given; interest and dividends earned from the principal, also called income; and the profits, if any, from increases in the value of the principal, or capital gains.
  • The rules you've written for the trust will determine who gets the income, capital gains and the principal. That recipient is the beneficiary.
  • Trusts can have many beneficiaries — family members, friends, charities and even pets. Some beneficiaries are granted capital gains, while others get the principal. The trust states who gets what and when or under what conditions. The trustee makes sure the provisions in the trust are followed.
  • Different trusts do different things, so you may opt for more than one or even four or five. With living trusts, you place assets during your lifetime to be transferred to beneficiaries after your death. They are private and help you avoid probate. Testamentary trusts are contained in your will to provide for distribution after you pass; they can be used to provide for minor children.

In the absence of nationally uniform trust legislation, individual states have developed their own laws to govern establishing and maintaining trusts. The Uniform Probate Code sets forth provisions relating to wills and trusts and has been adopted by many states.
​
A common misconception about trusts is that they're very expensive to set up and advisable only for high-net-worth families. Although the wealthy have long used trusts, they actually can be both useful and economical for even modest-worth families. The only way to know how a trust can help with your family's estate plan is to speak with a professional.

Comments are closed.

    Newsletter articles are posted every 2 weeks. ​

    If you would like to have our e-newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, please sign up. Your information is confidential; you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe.

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    Categories

    All
    1099 Form
    401Ks And IRAs
    529 College Savings Plans
    941 Form
    ACA Affordable Care
    ADA - Americans With Disabilities Act
    Americans With Disabilities
    Annuities
    Audits
    Back Pay
    Bankruptcy
    Basis
    Benefit Transfers
    Blockchain
    Bonuses
    Box 1
    Business Deductions
    Business Interruption Insurance
    Business Tips
    Capital Gains
    Charitable Gifts
    Communication
    Compensation
    Credit Cards
    Credit Score
    Crowdfunding
    Death And Debt
    Debt
    Deductions
    Depreciation
    Disaster Tax Break
    Diversity Training
    Divorce
    D&O Insurance
    Dress For Success
    Earned Income Tax Credit
    EIN Employee ID Numbers
    Employee Direct Deposit
    Employee Overpayment
    Employee Ownership
    Employees Cross State Lines
    Employment Taxes
    ESOP
    Estate Planning
    Estate Taxes
    Estimated Taxes
    Executor
    Expenses And Depreciation
    Expensing Rules
    Family Businesses
    Fiduciary
    Filial (Adult Child) Responsibilities
    Filing Status Options
    Financial Advisor
    Financial Planning
    Flood Insurance
    Floods
    Franchise Ownership
    Fraud
    Headcount Reporting
    Health Care
    Health Savings Account
    Hiring Compliance
    Hiring Help
    Hiring Tax Credits
    Hobby Vs. Business
    Home Equity Loans
    Home Office Deduction
    Homeowners
    HSA
    Hurricanes
    IC-DISC
    Identity Theft
    Income Tax
    Information Return
    Inherited Mortgage
    Insurance
    Investing
    Investors For Your Business
    IRAs
    IRS Disagreements
    Joint Tenancy
    Key Performance Indicators
    Kiddie Tax
    Lease Accounting
    Life Insurance Trusts
    Loans
    Long-Term Care Insurance
    Managing Employees
    Marriage Penalty
    Maternity And Paternity Leave
    Medicaid Trust
    Medical And Dental Deductions
    Mergers
    Morale
    Multistate Taxes
    Myers-Briggs Personality Types
    New
    Newsletters
    New Tax Law
    Noncompete Agreements
    Operating Loss
    Opportunity Zones
    Organize Your Finances
    OSHA
    Overtime Exemption
    Padding
    Papers For Taxes
    Part-time Help Tax Rules
    Passwords
    Payable On Death Accounts
    Payday Changes
    Payday Frequency
    Payroll Cards
    Payroll Scams
    Payroll Taxes
    Pensions
    Personal Finances
    Power Of Attorney
    Private Tax Debt Collection
    Property Taxes
    QSEHRA Benefits
    R & D Tax Credit
    Real Estate 1031 Exchange
    Real Estate Held In IRA
    Reciprocal Agreements
    Retirement
    Revenue Recognition
    Reverse Mortgage
    Sales Tax
    Self Employment Taxes
    Severance Pay
    Severence Pay
    Sexual Harassment
    Sharing Economy Tax Implications
    Sick Leave Rules
    Small Business Administration
    Social Media
    Social Security
    Spendthrift Trust
    State And Local Taxes
    Student Loans
    Success
    Succession Plan
    Supplemental Wages
    Tariffs
    Tax Brackets
    Tax Breaks
    Tax Changes
    Tax Debt Collection
    Tax Deductions
    Tax Forms
    Taxpayer First Act
    Tax Planning
    Tax Reform
    Tax Scams
    Trump's Tax Law
    W-2 Form
    W-4 Form
    W-4 Requests
    Wage Garnishments
    Wages And Overtime
    Wills And Trusts
    Withholdings

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly