Legal Trusts Lawyers in Westfield, IN

A legal trust dictates how your assets will be distributed upon your death. It can be highly detailed and allow you to carry out unique wishes, such as protecting assets for your children and grandchildren who are under the age of 21.

One of the most distinct features of a trust is that it can be used to effectively avoid probate, reducing costs and delays that occur when your estate division is overseen by the court. This method of estate planning both promotes greater control over your financial legacy and keeps your affairs private and out of the public record.

What is a Special Needs Trust?

Special needs trusts are a specific type of trust that are created specially to hold assets for your family members with a disability. Also called a supplement needs trust, it ensures that your assets will not affect your beneficiaries’ eligibility for government benefits and programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

What Makes a Trust Legal in Indiana?

Unfortunately, writing down your distribution wishes isn’t enough to legally protect your assets. For your trust to be valid in the eyes of the Indiana State government, it must adhere to specific guidelines outlined in Indiana Code Title 30: Trusts and Fiduciaries.

Common requirements for a legal trust include:

• Testamentary Capacity: The person who creates the trust, called a testator or settlor, must be 18 years old or older and of sound mind.
• Written Instructions: A trust must be either handwritten or typed.
• Signed Documents: For a trust to be legal, the settlor must sign all trust documents.

Navigating these complex and varying legal requirements can be overwhelming, to say the least. Our legal trust attorneys at Webster & Garino LLC have the knowledge and experience to guide you through the process of establishing a trust. Give us a call today for a free consultation about your unique estate planning needs.

Also known as a last will and testament, a will is a legally binding document that allows Indiana residents to have control over the division of their property upon death.

The wishes outlined in a will are typically carried out by an executor either appointed in the document or by the court. Even with a will, your estate may still undergo probate, and your assetsmay not be distributed according to your instructions until after this process is completed.

On the other hand, a trust is a complex legal contract that names a trustee or multiple trustees who manage your assets privately. One of the key distinctions is that trusts are designed to keep assets out of probate.

With experienced legal assistance, your Indiana estate planning process can be extremely beneficial to you, your loved ones, and your estate. Developing a clear, legal estate plan, such as a trust, ensures that your financial legacy is placed in the right hands and that your wishes are carried out even after you’re gone.

Without a trust, your estate may go through probate court. Probate is a process of managing and distributing estate assets. It is overseen by the State and starts with the court identifying your estate’s worth, settling any debts, and then distributing remaining assets based on State standards for estate division or based on the instructions in your will. Unfortunately, without a will, many of these standards only include blood relatives and leave out family members and loved ones that you may have wished to pass assets to such as a life partner or best friend.

While a will is a legal document that can help add your input to this division and hopefully override the standardized law established by Indiana courts, Webster & Garino LLC’s attorneys can help you create a trust, which can help your loved ones avoid probate, while fulfilling your wishes.

At Webster & Garino LLC, we know that discussing you and your friends and family’s mortality can be uncomfortable. We base our estate planning service on compassion and professionalism so you can set up your legal trust with speed and efficiency and spend more time with your loved ones with the peace of mind they’ll be taken care of when you’re gone.

When you hire an experienced estate planning lawyer from our team, we do our best to accommodate your every need, even traveling to your home, hospital room, or care facility to complete the estate planning process. You seek a trust that will ensure all of the assets you’ve generated over your lifetime will remain with your family – we have the years of experience necessary to make that happen.

With our experienced legal representation for residents in and near Westfield, IN, you’ll remain in power of your finances even after you’ve passed away. Contact our Westfield estate planning lawyers to schedule an estate planning consultation today.

As a local law firm serving Westfield and the surrounding cities, Webster & Garino LLC is committed to achieving the legal goals of all our clients. When you need a knowledgeable Indiana attorney, we’ll answer the call and provide advice, representation, and document curation services that will result in a strong legal trust. We can also help you prepare other estate planning documents, such as a will, a Healthcare Power of Attorney, general Durable Power of Attorney, Advanced Healthcare Declaration, and Transfer on Death Deeds.

When you need qualified Westfield estate planning lawyers to develop your legal trusts, contact Webster & Garino LLC.