One of the legal estate planning tools that you can utilize to get your affairs in order is the trust. You have to think carefully about trusts because once you create some types of trusts and put assets into them, you can’t change them. These are known as irrevocable trusts.

It is imperative that you take the time to consider the reasons for the trust and what you might want to do about it in the future. Here are some important points to remember about a trust:

Trusts have different goals

You should think about what you want the trusts to do and who you are leaving assets to. These are what will determine what types of trusts you can consider using. One of the main decisions you have to make is whether you are going to use irrevocable trusts or revocable trusts. The revocable trusts allow you to change the contents of the trust so that you have more control over what happens if the situation changes.

Trustee selection

You have to put someone, either a person or an entity, over the trusts. This person is the trustee. It is possible for you to name yourself as the trustee, but you should make sure that you put someone else over the trust as an alternate trustee so that they can take over if you pass away or are unable to handle the duties.

Once you decide that you are going to set up the trusts, you have to get them established. You then have to transfer the assets into the trust so that the trust is legal and passes on your wishes.

Source: FindLaw, “What Is a Trust Account?,” accessed Nov. 24, 2017