Long Island Elder Law & Estate Planning

Smithtown living trust lawyers can provide you with personalized help with creating a trust. We can assist you in determining whether you should incorporate a trust into your plans for incapacity or into your legacy plan. We can also provide guidance on the actual process of creating your trust to ensure that you have made the right type of trust and followed the law regarding producing a legally valid trust document. smithtown living trust lawyers

You should reach out to our legal team while you are still young and healthy so you have time to make a trust that is right for you and your loved ones.  Give us a call today to find out how Smithtown living trust lawyers at Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC  can help you.  You can also read on to find out about some of the most common trust mistakes that it is important for you to avoid when you are considering the creation of a trust.

Mistake: Assuming Trusts Are Only for the Wealthy

While a lot of people think of trust funds as something for the rich, middle class families can also benefit a lot from creating a trust. For example, many people who don’t have a huge fortune could end up quickly spending their entire life savings if they need to pay out of pocket for nursing home care.  Since Medicare and most insurance won’t cover nursing home care, being required to pay out of pocket could be a reality for many older people. However, if you can use trusts to ensure your assets don’t disqualify you from means-tested Medicaid — which will pay for nursing home care — you could preserve your wealth and your chance to leave a legacy.

Mistake: Waiting too Long to Create a Trust

Trusts have many important benefits, but the trust needs to be in place already when issues arise if you expect a trust to offer protection for you or your assets. For example, a trust could protect your wealth in case of your incapacity by allowing a backup trustee to take over management of trust assets. However, you’d need to have the trust in place before you become incapacitated. It takes time to create a trust, so act early so you have this legal tool in place if something happens to you.

Mistake: Choosing the Wrong Type of Trust

Different trusts serve different purposes. For example a living trust won’t protect the assets held in the trust from estate tax.  If you make the wrong trust type, you may think you have protections in place even when you actually do not. This is one key reason why it is so important for you to work with an experienced attorney to make a trust so you do not find out too late that you don’t have the protections for your assets that you thought you did.

Mistake: Not Following the Law Regarding the Creation of Your Trust Document

If you make a trust but don’t follow the proper process, your trust won’t be considered valid and you also will not get the protections that you had expected from trust creation. This is another key reason why it makes sense for you to work with Smithtown living trust lawyers.

Mistake: Choosing the Wrong Trustee

The trustee has a fiduciary duty to manage trust assets on behalf of beneficiaries. You want to make certain you select a trustee who has the knowledge and ability to manage trust assets effectively. You also want to be able to count on that person to follow your instructions. While failure to comply with the trust document could be considered a breach of fiduciary duty and the trustee could be held accountable, you want to choose someone where this won’t be an issue so problems don’t arise that end up with your family in court.

Mistake: Failing to Fund the Trust

Just creating a trust is not enough — you also need to find it with the right assets that you want the trust to protect.

Getting Help From Smithtown Living Trust Lawyers

Smithtown living trust lawyers can help you to ensure that you have taken the necessary steps to fund your trust and to ensure that your trust is legally valid and enforceable. We can also work with you to select the right trust type to get the expected protections. To find out more about how our firm can help with all legal issues related to trust creation, join us for a free seminar. If you are ready to get personalized help, give us a call at (631) 265-0599 or contact us online today.

Latest posts by Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)

About Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney

Mark S. Eghrari is an attorney in private practice in Smithtown, New York. He has been in practice since 1988. Mark S. Eghrari provides extensive estate and tax planning services to individuals and businesses. Mr. Eghrari’s primary focus is helping clients avoid probate, minimize or eliminate Federal and State Estate taxes and protect their assets from the high cost of nursing care, if they become ill.