Grand Rapids Trust Attorneys

Helping You Protect Your Estate in St. Joseph, Kent County, Ottawa County, Montcalm County, and Beyond

People create trusts to ensure their assets are dealt with in the way they want, whether during life or after death, without the need for court intervention. Our attorneys at Thacker Sleight have more than 50 years of combined experience dealing with complex legal matters, including drafting trusts for clients. Our experience in family legal matters like property division also grants us a unique perspective and understanding of why and how we can better protect your property interests. We will work with you to develop a favorable plan to protect your estate for your beneficiaries and ensure everything ends up in the right hands.

Schedule an appointment with one of our experienced attorneys to assist you with building your trust. 

What Is a Trust?

A trust allows a trustor to grant a “trustee” the right to hold title to property and assets for a third party, the “beneficiary.” Trusts legally protect the trustor’s assets to ensure they will be distributed according to the trustor’s wishes. "Living trusts" are trusts created in the trustor’s lifetime. One of the most common types of trusts is the revocable trust, which can be altered, amended, or even terminated at any time. 

Trusts and wills operate similarly in that they both hold property to be passed down. A key distinction, however, is that trusts do not need to go through probate, which can save your loved ones significant probate court costs. The property in a trust simply goes to the beneficiaries without painstaking paperwork or litigation. Additionally, with trusts, your estate plan will be carried out privately; your assets, wishes, etc., will not be viewable by the public, unlike with a will. As long as your trust is professionally prepared by an experienced attorney and is adequately funded, the administration of your trust will be a more streamlined process than dealing with a will. 

Benefits of Creating a Trust

There are several benefits to having a trust. As mentioned above, trusts do not go through the probate process, so the property in your trust will transfer automatically to your beneficiaries without having to wait for court approval. 

Trusts are also frequently utilized to minimize taxes through an estate plan, but they also have provisions like: 

• Creditor protection provisions to protect your assets from a child’s or beneficiaries’ creditors
• Control provisions to dictate how the trustee should spend the money for the beneficiary’s benefit
• Management provisions to guide your trustee in investing and managing your assets

If you are looking to create a trust, or if you have questions about whether you should create a trust to protect certain assets, do not hesitate to reach out to our attorneys at Thacker Sleight for legal assistance. We can take a detailed look at your circumstances to build a trust that appropriately protects your financial interests. 

Let an experienced professional work on your trust to safeguard your future. Contact Thacker Sleight for an initial consultation to get started.