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Is A Trust Right For You?

Trusts are an important part of estate planning and asset protection. Trusts, which take several forms, can be used both during your life and after you pass away. It is important that you work with a knowledgeable attorney to help you determine whether these tools are appropriate for you and what types are best, given your goals.

In addition, your lawyer must be capable of drafting your trust in the appropriate fashion so that it survives challenges and meets your requirements.

The trust planning and drafting attorneys at Hoffmeyer & Semmelman, L.L.C., have substantial experience in advising on and drafting these documents. Contact us today at our offices in York, Shrewsbury or Mount Wolf to learn how we can assist you.

The Role Of Living Trusts Versus Testamentary Trusts

There are two basic types of trusts – living and testamentary. Underlying those types, there are as many as you can imagine to help you achieve your goals, minimize your taxes and protect your assets.

Living trusts can be either revocable or irrevocable. With revocable, you maintain control of assets, and you can change the terms at any point or even revoke the trust. With irrevocable, you have essentially turned the assets over to a third party, while limiting what may be done with them. These types are especially useful for limiting estate taxes.

Testamentary trusts do not exist until the person who created them dies. The will, using the proper language, creates the trust upon the person’s death. Testamentary trusts are useful because they allow you to set up a person to manage it after your death.

This testamentary type can provide tax benefits, especially in the case of minor children. They can also provide protection from litigants in professional negligence claims and against creditors. If you have a loved one you are concerned is likely to mismanage money, this kind of tools is one way to handle the problem.

Why You Need A Trust

Trusts are very flexible and can allow you to create virtually any financial arrangement you can imagine. For example, if you do not want your children to receive money until a certain age, these estate planning tools can accomplish this. You can also control how the money is used, even after your death. An example is setting aside money for college or charitable gifts.

For Help Setting Up A Trust

It is critical that the lawyer you retain to help you is able to understand your needs and qualified to draft your estate planning documents. At Hoffmeyer & Semmelman, L.L.C., our lawyers will sit down with you and discuss your goals.

As part of our estate planning practice, we will help you determine whether trusts are appropriate for you, and then what kind of will would enable you to achieve your goals. Once we have established the appropriate set of actions for you, we will draft trusts that meet your needs.

Contact Hoffmeyer & Semmelman, L.L.C., Today For Help

Contact our central Pennsylvania estate planning lawyers today by calling 717-846-8846 or using our email form.