Trusts

Helping West Linn and Lake Oswego families establish trusts that offer peace of mind and protection.

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Trusts are a lot like wills in that they include your assets and end-of-life wishes, but unlike a will, they offer more options and control over how your representative handles allocation. Trusts avoid probate and are kept private, and wills do not, meaning that a will may have a waiting period of six months or more before beneficiaries will receive your assets upon your death. Your will also has to be publicly recorded, so if you want that con man of an uncle from trying to get a share of your house after your death, you may want a trust.

 

Trusts, have no waiting period, and assets will be transferred to your beneficiaries much quicker. One of the big set backs people have with a trust is that they are initially more expensive than wills, but they have the added benefit of saving court fees, lawyer costs, and, in some cases, significantly reducing estate taxes. In addition a trust:

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• Gives you more control over your wealth: You can decide what is included or not included in your trust. Generally, you will want to include all items of significant value (money or emotional). That could include your house, vintage car, business, great grandma's diamond necklace, etc. Then, you will decide how and when those items are distributed.

  • This is particularly important for small business owners who may not want their 18 year old child in control of their business when they pass, and instead want it to transfer to them at 25 or after business school or any other legal specifications they would like to make.

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• Better protection of your legacy. A trust created by an attorney can help to ensure that the assets being passed down are safe from the beneficiary's creditors and can help a more irresponsible family member from using the assets in silly or wasteful ways.

  • Maybe, you would like your child to be able to use the money you leave for a house or their education. With a trust, you can ensure that the money will be provided for certain purposes and not just given to them all at once without supervision. (We've heard too many stories of twenty year old's getting a large sum of money and spending it on a sports car, boat, and trips only to be in debt later on. Trusts can stop that from happening.)

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• Saving money and increasing privacy. Many people do not mind having the probate for their will being made public. However, families who have certain relatives that they know may be problematic or have larger assets that they would not like made public may prefer the privacy that a trust provides.

  • Not only will the trust keep assets from entering probate and being recorded, it will reduce the court fees and estate taxes that your dependents would be responsible for.​

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Our trust packages include medical directive, power of attorney, and all of the documents you need to ensure that your family, legacy, finances, and privacy are protected.

 

All consultations for estate planning or updating your existing estate plan are FREE.