Houston, TX Trusts Lawyer

Benefits of Using a Trust to Avoid Probate in Houston, TX

Trusts can help you and your beneficiaries avoid many of the pitfalls associated with probate. While any property controlled by a will must go through the entire probate process, any property contained in a trust can be seamlessly transferred. More and more people are choosing to primarily use trusts, rather than wills, to control their estates. Trusts can also protect your beneficiaries against many estate contests or probate litigation.

The Fealy Law Firm, PC is experienced in creating trusts designed to preserve a person's wealth for his or her chosen beneficiaries. Attorney Vicky Fealy will be thorough in making sure that all assets you want to be controlled by the trust are contained in the trust and that your beneficiaries will enjoy a seamless transfer of ownership one day.

Benefits of Using a Trust

The benefits of using a trust over a will are numerous. A few of the reasons many people rely on trusts rather than wills during estate planning include:

• Avoiding probate - Probate can take a year or more and drastically reduce the amount of estate property that actually goes to the beneficiaries. Trust property does not need to pass through probate.
• Privacy - Anything that happens in probate court becomes a matter of public record. Trusts can be kept private. Normally, only the people named in a trust can even see the trust document or find out what the trust contains.
• Reducing the chance of an estate contest - It is much harder for someone who is not a beneficiary to contest a trust than it would be for him or her to contest a will. Wills are far more likely to be contested than trusts.

Understanding How Trusts Work

When you create a trust, you transfer ownership of some or all of your assets to the trust. However, this does not mean that you no longer control your property. If you create a revocable living trust and declare yourself the trustee during your lifetime, you retain the right to use, sell, or give away any property you place in the trust. You can also change your beneficiaries or revoke this type of trust entirely at any time.

You will then name your beneficiaries and a successor trustee. The successor trustee will be your trust administrator after you pass away. He or she will be tasked with distributing property contained in the trust to your chosen beneficiaries according to your directions. There is no court intervention required, as trusts are privately owned and can be transferred posthumously without a court's approval.

If you want to protect your wealth for yourself during your own lifetime, you could consider making an irrevocable trust. The drawback of an irrevocable trust is that once you have made the trust, you cannot withdraw assets at will, make changes, or undo the trust. The benefit is that your creditors cannot access funds in an irrevocable trust either, since you technically do not own them and cannot withdraw them at will.

Making Long-Term Distributions With a Trust

When you use a will, your beneficiaries will receive the entire amount of money or property you leave to them immediately. When you use a trust, you can make distributions:

• Over time - You can leave each beneficiary a certain amount of money per year.
• On special occasions - You can leave special gifts to your beneficiaries when they reach a milestone, like graduating college or having a baby.
• Per your trustee's discretion - You could authorize your trustee to make discretionary distributions so they can send money to your beneficiaries to support their career goals or in case of an emergency.

Contact a Fort Bend County, TX Lawyer for Trusts

The Fealy Law Firm, PC is skilled in creating strong trusts that will make the administration phase easy. Experienced Sugar Land, TX trust attorney Vicky Fealy will work with you to create the right trust for your situation. Contact us at 713-526-5220 for a complimentary consultation.