Jacksonville Trust Lawyers

Set up a Trust in Jacksonville, FL with Edwards & Edwards, P.A.

Creating a trust can strengthen your estate plan and give you more control over what happens to your assets when you pass away. With trusts, you can make conditional gifts, avoid probate, and reduce your tax liability. You can also help your heirs manage your estate and use your assets the way you intended.

Why You Should Consider Setting Up a Trust

Setting up a trust can offer numerous benefits for you and your loved ones. Unlike a will, a trust can provide greater control over how your assets are distributed after your passing. Here are some reasons why you should consider setting up a trust:

• Asset protection: A trust can protect your assets from creditors or lawsuits, ensuring they are preserved for your beneficiaries.
• Probate avoidance: A trust can help your beneficiaries avoid the time-consuming and costly probate process.
• Tax benefits: Depending on the type of trust you set up, you may be able to reduce or eliminate estate taxes.
• Privacy: Unlike a will, a trust is a private document and does not become a matter of public record.
• Flexibility: A trust can be tailored to meet your specific needs and can be changed or revoked at any time.

Our Jacksonville trust lawyers at Edwards & Edwards, P.A. can help you navigate the complex process of setting up a trust. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and start planning for your future.

If you’d like to add a trust to your estate plan, Edwards & Edwards, P.A. can help. We have more than 65 years of combined experience, and as a sister-owned, family-operated firm, we understand what’s at stake.

Call us at (904) 478-9255 to learn more about setting up a trust in Jacksonville, FL.

What Is a Trust?

According to Fidelity:

“A trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party, or trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries.”

When you create a trust, you put assets into a bank account (sometimes called a trust fund) and give a trustee the right to manage that bank account. Sometimes, you can maintain partial control of the trust while you are still alive and pass the control to another trustee when you die.

There are many types of trusts.

What Are the Types of Trusts?

The trust we described above (where you maintain control of the trust until you die) is called a living trust or inter-vivos trust. You can also create a testamentary trust or will trust, which specifies what happens to your assets when you die. A testamentary trust can be helpful if you wish to leave behind conditional gifts. For example, you may want to leave your daughter an inheritance – but only if she finishes college.

In a testamentary trust, the trustee can help ensure your wishes are followed and award funds according to certain conditions.

Trusts can also be revocable or irrevocable. You can change a revocable trust during your lifetime, but you cannot change an irrevocable trust. Most trusts become irrevocable when you die, and testamentary trusts are always irrevocable.

For tax reasons, irrevocable trusts are more favorable. You can avoid tax liabilities because the assets in a trust are no longer in your possession, and in many cases, are no longer taxable.

Different trusts also apply to different situations. Some common types of trusts include:

The type of trust you choose will depend on what you want to do with your assets, which benefits of trusts are most important to you, and the details of your unique situation.