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Palm City Wills, Trusts & Estates Lawyer

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Estate planning can be complicated, involving wills, trusts, and other planning decisions. Hiring a Palm City wills, trusts & estates lawyer can help simplify the process.

At Apfelbaum Law, our experienced Florida estate attorneys answer a wide variety of questions for our clients. Some people want to know the best way to avoid probate, or make things less complicated for the beneficiaries of their will. Others have questions about creating a health care advance directive.

Many people ask about the requirements for setting up a trust. Non-charitable trusts have the following requirements in Florida:

  • a settlor with capacity
  • intent to create a trust
  • a definite beneficiary
  • duties for the trustee
  • the sole trustee and sole beneficiary cannot be the same person
    A trust requires a settlor, trustee, and beneficiary, and because the last two positions cannot be occupied by the same individual, your Florida estate attorney will advise that you choose at least two people to set up a trust. You may have multiple trustees and as many beneficiaries as you like, so long as they are definite—specific persons or organizations.

Trustee’s & Settlor’s

The trustee can be a person or a corporation. If you do not appoint a trustee, or appoint someone who dies before executing their duties, the court will appoint a successor trustee. The trustee’s duties are to manage the trust and ensure property is distributed how and when it should be (generally after the settlor’s death).

The settlor is the creator of the trust. As the settlor, you will set up the elements of the trust. This means you will choose one or more beneficiaries and one or more trustees. You will also choose what assets you wish to place in the trust. At this point, it is usually helpful to make a list of assets you might want to put in your trust. Remember that these assets will still legally belong to you while you are alive, then ownership moves to the trust after you have passed.

Types of Assets Placed in Trusts

There are several types of assets that can be placed in trust. Bank accounts can be placed in a trust, and your Florida business attorney can guide you to change the paperwork at your bank to show the trust is the owner of the account. Valuables such as paintings, jewelry, or antiques may also be placed in trust. Under some circumstances, you may be able to transfer real estate like a house to a trust, if it is solely in your name. A Florida estate attorney can help you figure out if this option is feasible for you.

Small business owners may also find a trust useful if they wish to transfer their business interests to a beneficiary quickly. The owner of a sole proprietorship can transfer the company into a trust, and someone in a partnership can move their share to a trust. (The partnership document will need to be changed to reflect the trust is the new owner.)

One person’s stake in an LLC can be transferred into trust only with the consent of the other owners, or the majority of the other owners. Owners of a closely-held corporation may be able to put their shares in a trust by naming the stock in the trust documents. However, you will need to check the operating agreement to make sure you are allowed to do this, and will still have voting rights.

Consulting a Wills, Trusts & Estates Lawyer

Sometimes these situations can get complicated, and it is best to consult a Florida estate attorney if you have questions about what can be transferred to a trust.

If you have questions or concerns about wills, estates, trusts, or other Florida legal services, please contact Apfelbaum Law for a consultation. We can be reached at 772-236-4009, or contactus@alawfl.com.

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