A Trust Is About More Than Protecting Assets.

A trust can be an important estate planning tool, but whether you need one—and what kind of planning makes sense—depends on much more than the value of your estate.

Your family structure, property, business interests, beneficiaries, and future plans can all affect whether a trust should be part of your estate plan.

At Sullivan Evans, we help clients consider trusts within the larger picture, so the legal documents they create reflect the people, property, and priorities behind them.

What Is a Trust?

A trust is a legal arrangement in which assets are held and managed according to specific terms for the benefit of designated beneficiaries.

Depending on your circumstances and goals, a trust may help you:

• Determine how and when beneficiaries receive assets
• Provide for a spouse, children, or other beneficiaries
• Plan for children or beneficiaries who may need additional oversight
• Address planning considerations for blended families
• Manage certain assets during incapacity
• Provide continuity in the management of property
• Coordinate the transfer of certain assets outside of probate
• Incorporate business, real estate, or other significant assets into a broader estate plan

But having a trust does not automatically mean you have a complete estate plan.

A trust should work together with your will, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, property ownership, and other planning documents.

Second Marriage. Two Families. One Estate Plan.

Trust planning becomes especially important when families become more complex.
Imagine that you have children from a previous marriage and later remarry.
You want your spouse to be financially secure if you die first.
But you also want to make certain that the assets you have built ultimately benefit your children.
Leaving everything outright to one person may not accomplish both goals.
A trust may provide options for balancing those interests by establishing how assets are managed, who may benefit from them, and what ultimately happens to those assets.
The legal question may be about a trust.
The real-life question is often:
How do I take care of the people I love when their interests are different?

When a Trust Intersects With the Rest of Your Life

Business Ownership
If you own a closely held business, consider trust planning alongside ownership agreements, succession planning, and your overall estate plan. The documents should work together, not create conflicting instructions.

Real Estate and Property
How you own property can affect how it passes at death. Trust planning should therefore take property ownership and other estate planning arrangements into account.

Wills
A trust does not necessarily eliminate the need for a will. These documents often serve different purposes and should be coordinated as part of one.

A Trust Should Fit the Life Behind It
There is no single trust that is right for everyone.
For one family, the primary concern may be providing for young children.
For another, it may be balancing the needs of a spouse and children from a prior marriage.
For a business owner, the question may involve what happens to an ownership interest after death.
For someone with significant real estate or other assets, the issue may be how to manage those assets and ultimately transfer them.

That is why trust planning should begin with your circumstances and goals—not simply with a document.

At Sullivan Evans, our attorneys work across estate planning, probate, family law, business matters, and property issues. That broader perspective can be particularly valuable when a trust intersects with other parts of your legal and financial life.

When the Legal Problem Doesn’t Fit Neatly Into One Box, Call Us.

A trust may begin as an estate planning tool, but the decisions behind it can involve your marriage, children, business, property, and future plans.

Sullivan Evans Goenawein helps clients understand how those pieces connect and create a strategic plan that considers the bigger picture.

Where Life and Law Intersect.

Schedule a Complimentary Estate Planning Consultation