August 30, 2019

Not all assets belong in a trust, and knowing the difference can help you make the right choice for your assets. The easiest way to figure out whether or not a trust can help you is to sit down with your lawyer and make a list of all the assets you own.

There are several types of assets commonly transferred into trusts. These include: life insurance policies, antiques and collectibles, business interests, investments and money market accounts, deposits inside credit unions and banks, realy property, and stocks.

The trust is only formally set up when you take these assets and transfer them into the ownership of the trust itself. It is at this point that these assets are truly owned by the trust and under the management of the trustee you have chosen.

Since trusts offer a lot of benefits, using one is a common way to ensure you’ve considered all your estate planning issues across the board. Benefits include passing on your assets without having them go through probate, putting aside certain assets for the care of someone in your family with special needs, establishing requirements for beneficiaries to meet before assets will be distributed, and creating a plan for managing your business or personal assets.

With many trust tools out there, it’s important to be well-informed. Not all trusts are created equal. Deciding what’s right for you and your intentions might look different from your neighbor or coworkers. Sitting down with an attorney in New Jersey who has experience in estate planning and using trusts will give you a better perspective on how to best leverage these tools.