Will now, Trust later?

[jackd]

My wife and I have a will. Our concern is my sister-in-law and her not being financially responsible. She has squandered her portion of her fathers estate and is running her family into near poverty. I have found a Trust called an "Incentive Trust" which is exactly our wish if we both should pass. Our thinking is to have her brother administer our stipulations thru this. Do we stick with the will and have the brother-in-law create the Incentive Trust that we outline in our will? If or not, how can this be implemented?

Thanks a ton,
jack

 

[TrustUser]

just remember, WILL = PROBATE.

you can certainly create a trust, and have that trust managed and distribute in whatever way you specify.

also remember, only the assets that are placed into the trust are governed by the trust. the trust document does nothing if it contains no assets that are titled to the trust.

 

[jackd]

Re: Trust

So you are leaning towards creating a Trust with a incentive clause or section that is directed to the sister-in-law only? If I go to a Trust now, isn't there a fee to maintain the Trust unlike the current Will without any fees.

 

[TrustUser]

as the lawyers on the site will tell you, i like trusts. do not like wills.

there are no fees or extra management, to have a trust.

whatever assets you have, they need to be managed, irregardless of their titling. having them titled to the trust does not create extra management.

simply create a living trust, with her brother as successor trustee, and in your case, i might stipulate that the brother has final say. usually it is best to allow the beneficiary the final say.

but just create the trust document with whatever wording matches your desires.

since the trust will continue after death, you want to make sure it is complete, in that it handles possible conflicts.

at what point do the assets get distributed ? or keep it in the trust for as long as possible ? which might be after the sister-in-law dies.

all these questions need to be answered, even if you are gonna let the will create the trust.

the only difference is the following - do you want to pay a bunch of money to lawyers and the probate system ? they are more than eager to have you do just that.

 

[jackd]

Thanks

Thanks for the clarification and quick response. I'll need to read a little more as to start the Trust now or let the Will create the Trust.
Thanks again,
JackD

 

[tranquility]

Go to a real attorney and get real advice. Trustuser does not understand all the ramifications of difficult situations like the one you are in now. An "incentive" trust is not an out-of-the-box fill-in-the-blank kind of thing. A lot of thought and work must be put into it beforehand or it WILL NOT accomplish your goals.

It will cost you and is certainly not a do it yourself project.

 

[TrustUser]

in general, i am not advising people to do their own trusts. as i said above, some trust documents should be very complete, AS I DO UNDERSTAND MOST OF THE RAMIFICATIONS of situations that require complete trusts, and correct language to take care of the typical problems that may arise.

unlike most of the trust documents that i have seen written by lawyers, my document takes into account much more. this is why i did my own research, and created my own document - no one cares more about myself than me. before you see a lawyer, make sure you do your homework, and have a pretty good idea of what you want.

do not expect a lawyer, if he is charging you a flat fee, to spend any more time on you than he has to. and once again, this is not just lawyers, but any profession. pay someone a flat fee, and you will get whatever minimal service the professional can get by with.

and when searching for a lawyer, just remember that many of them have most of their knowledge in wills, not trusts. so be careful when choosing. the more you know beforehand, the more you will be able to discern how knowledgeable your lawyer is, should you hire one.