If you are thinking about creating a trust, you should talk with a trusts lawyer to find out what your options are. There are different kinds of trusts, and trusts can accomplish many important purposes for asset protection and legacy planning. However, the laws surrounding trusts are complicated and you need to be ready to follow the rules exactly to get the protections that you need and expect from trust creation. 
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can provide you with comprehensive assistance during the trust creation process. Our legal team knows Vermont laws on creating a trust and we can assist with a determination on whether a trust is right for you. We can also provide help with the process of following the formalities necessary to create a legally valid trust document. Give us a call to find out more about how a Vermont trust lawyer can assist you in creating a trust.
How to Prepare for Creating a Trust
If you have begun to think about creating a trust, you should do a few preliminary steps. The very first thing you need to do is secure legal help from a qualified trust attorney. However, as you wait for your meeting with your lawyer, some of the additional steps you can take to prepare for trust creation include:
- Thinking about your goals for trust creation. Why do you want a trust? If your plans are to protect assets during your lifetime in case you need nursing home care, for example, you are going to need a different kind of trust than if your goal is to provide for a loved one with a disability.
- Listing the assets you hope to protect. You cannot just assume that you can transfer any assets you want into a trust. Moving property into a trust could have important financial implications. You need a list of assets you are hoping your trust will own so you can talk with an attorney about whether moving those assets into the trust is possible or advisable.
- Considering who your trustee and beneficiaries will be. Your trustee is going to manage trust assets while your beneficiaries are the people who will benefit from your trust. You want to ensure that your trustee is someone who you can trust implicitly to handle your property properly and take care of it in the best way possible to preserve the value of trust assets.
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC will help with the formal process of trust creation and will take care of all of the legal details that you must follow in creating a trust. Make sure you get professional legal help early in the trust creation process so you do not get too far into your planning only to find out the type of trust you are considering cannot accomplish your desired aims.
When Should You Create a Trust?
You should create a trust as soon as you have assets that you hope to protect or as soon as you have made the decision to provide a gift to a loved one who needs a little extra help in managing the property you wish to provide. If you are leaving money to an irresponsible heir, a minor child, or a friend or a loved one with a disabling condition, there are trusts that can allow you to best accomplish those goals.
Trusts can also keep your assets safe, help you ensure you can get Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, assist you in avoiding estate tax, and allow you to ensure that your wealth is managed wisely in case of incapacity. Since there are so many different kinds of trusts and since trusts can accomplish so many different things, you should make certain you involve a trust creation lawyer in the process of creating a trust.
Getting Help from A Vermont Trust Creation Lawyer
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC has provided assistance to clients with many different kinds of trust creation. Our legal team knows the ins-and-outs of Vermont law and will assist you in determining what type of trust makes sense to accomplish your goals.
To find out more about what is involved in trust creation and why creating a trust makes sense for you, you can download our free estate planning worksheet. You can also give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online to speak with a member of our legal team for personalized help with the trust creation process. Call now to get started.
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