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Thursday, 1 May 2014

What Are Asset Protection Trusts?

By Tracie Knight


Trusts are ideal if you want to gain control over the management of your assets when you die, or if you wish to manage your own assets in a particular fashion. Asset protection trusts are suitable if you want to protect your personal and professional assets from potential creditors. This is an effective method of planning your wealth goals.

A trust is viewed as a legal entity which is drafted to retain an asset for the benefit of another. There are three parties involved in this legal entity. The person who creates and funds the entity is known as the trustor or grantor. The person who received benefit from it is known as the beneficiary. The person who is responsible for its administration is the trustee, who is also bound to act in the best interests of all beneficiaries.

A trust is created by the execution of a legal document known as a trust agreement. This agreement names the beneficiary and the trustee. It also contains instructions related to what the beneficiary will receive. It lists the trustee's duties and when the trust will end, among other considerations.

The trust may contain any type of asset, including bonds, real estate and stocks. Your reasons for implementing the entity will be the determining factor as to what is placed in it. For example, you may want an entity that is useful for the payment of taxes and other estate duties or for the financial provision of your family when you die. In these cases, it may be necessary to add real estate or a life insurance policy to the entity.

People use these entities for various reasons. Some of the reasons include the minimization of estate taxes, protection of their assets from potential creditors and the preservation of assets. You could choose this method to move assets to others who are liable for lower taxation. An asset protection trust is ideal if you want to make sure that the assets stay in your possession.

This is an irrevocable trust that will protect all your assets within it from potential creditors. To establish the entity, you are allowed to transfer certain assets to it. Once the assets have been transferred, it will be protected from future creditors.

You will have some form of control over the assets that are placed within the entity. As the trustor or grantor, the law allows you to direct the manner in which the assets are invested. You will be allowed to receive income from it and determine how distributions are provided to third parties.

To offer adequate protection for the assets placed, you may not be able to gain full control over the assets. This does not imply that all control will be lost over the benefits derived from the property which you have transferred.

You should consult an attorney to find out about the various types of entities. A trust which you refer to in your will is called a testamentary entity. You can make use of a living trust while you are alive. If you wish to have the facility to amend or cancel the entity, you will obtain a revocable version, or if you do not want this facility, an irrevocable entity. Your choice will be wholly dependent on what you currently require and may require in future.




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