You can name more than one beneficiary to share any item of trust property.
One of the biggest mistakes parents make when setting up a trust fund is choosing the wrong trustee to oversee and manage the trust. This crucial decision can open the door to potential theft, mismanagement of assets, and family conflict that derails your child's financial future.
This is a fundamental concept of trust law: the separation of legal and equitable title. In other words, while the trustee has the legal authority to manage and control the assets, they do so not for their own benefit, but for the beneficiaries.
If you have an even number of Trustees, decisions can be impossible to make if the Trustees cannot agree. You can inadvertently cause conflict in the family if you appoint siblings or family members as co-Trustees. A professional and non-professional Trustee typically creates confusion and frustration.
Co-trustees need to agree upon decisions that they make for the trust. It is not enough for one trustee to think that an action is a good idea, with the other trustee disagreeing. Both trustees must decide and agree together in the best interests of the beneficiaries.
Naming the same person as trustee and beneficiary can be problematic. Not only can it lead to a trustee and beneficiary conflict of interest, but it can make it difficult for the trustee to uphold their duty to treat all beneficiaries equally.
While trustees may temporarily be able to delay trust distributions if a valid reason exists for them doing so, they are rarely entitled to hold trust assets indefinitely or refuse beneficiaries the gifts they were left through the trust.
Once you die, your living trust becomes irrevocable, which means that your wishes are now set in stone. The person you named to be the successor trustee now steps up to take an inventory of the trust assets and eventually hand over property to the beneficiaries named in the trust.
Your ultimate beneficiaries may consist of the persons, charities, or other organizations of your choice.
Trusts offer amazing benefits, but they also come with potential downsides like loss of control, limited access to assets, costs, and recordkeeping difficulties.
An irrevocable trust could be a good option for people 65 and older who are Medicaid-eligible because it protects the elderly individual from having to dispose of their assets in order to qualify for Medicaid or nursing home care.
There is no minimum
You can create a trust with any amount of assets, as long as they have some value and can be transferred to the trust. However, just because you can doesn't necessarily mean you should. Trusts can be complicated.
This trust is then used to supplement the needs of the individual who is receiving the benefits so that those benefits will not be lost. The short answer is that you have the absolute ability to make unequal distributions to your children or family members if you choose to do so.
If the beneficiary of a trust or will passes away, the person who established the trust or will is required to amend their estate plan. The estate plan will still be in effect if this occurs. There are two paths for the inheritance to take when naming beneficiaries for an estate plan when a will or trust is created.
As the Settlor, you have the freedom to select any individual as the Trustee, and you can even appoint multiple Co-Trustees. People often choose Co-Trustees for various reasons, such as: Avoiding potential conflicts among adult children by appointing multiple Co-Trustees.
The trustee generally has the authority to withdraw money from a trust to cover the cost of third-party professionals, as well as any other expenses arising as a result of administration.
Typically, a revocable trust with clear provisions for outright distribution might conclude within 12 to 18 months. However, in simpler cases, the process can take an average of 4 to 5 months without complications.
Trustee: Trustees often have more ongoing authority, especially in the case of living trusts or long-term trusts. They may manage and distribute assets over many years, depending on the terms of the trust.
Under California law, embezzling trust funds or property valued at $950 or less is a misdemeanor offense and is punishable by up to 6 months in county jail. If a trustee embezzles more than $950 from the trust, they can be charged with felony embezzlement, which carries a sentence of up to 3 years in jail.
A trustee must abide by the trust document and the California Probate Code. They are prohibited from using trust assets for personal gain and must act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. Trust assets are meant for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries and not for the personal use of the trustee.
Common Breaches of Trustee Duties in California. Too often, trustees breach their duties. Some of the most common ways they do this include breaches of trust, funds misappropriation, poor management, fraudulent acts, failure to act, and engagement with a competitor.
An executor can also be someone you've named as a beneficiary in your will. The role of an executor is a serious one which carries a lot of responsibility. When choosing your executor or executors you need to bear this in mind. It should be someone you trust to carry out this work.
A A Trustee is disqualified 'as Trustee' upon his death, loss of his legal competence, removal from trusteeship, liquidation, rescinding his licence or declaring his bankruptcy. The Trust shall then be transferred to the other Trustees in case of multiple Trustees, unless the Trust Instrument provides otherwise.