Work with an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney to Create, Modify, and Administer Your Trusts
Far too few among us have taken the time to establish legally valid estate plans. Even among those who have taken the time to draft a last will and testament, many begin and end there, not considering the different types of trusts and other documents that could be used to create a comprehensive estate plan. At our law offices, we are big believers in making sure that our Baltimore clients are prepared for anything and everything, and that includes building comprehensive estate plans complete with trust, Medicaid planning, business succession planning, and other estate planning needs in mind.
Estate planning can be a complicated and often overwhelming subject. For some, considering our own mortality and the assets we leave behind to our beneficiaries and theirs, estate planning can also be a morbid subject. But you need to understand that you don’t need to tackle these legal matters on your own. MD lawyers, such as the legal team of our law firm, are ready and willing to provide valuable legal guidance to you throughout the estate planning process.
Several law firms offer legal services to Baltimore clients interested in state laws and estate planning services. Our Baltimore City law firm sets itself apart from the rest by offering dedicated legal services with compassion and tenacity. Additionally, our law firm practices several different areas of the law, including family law, criminal law, and personal injury law, making us something of a full-service legal team for you, the client.
Our law office offers free consultations to prospective new clients interested in retaining our estate planning services. If you have questions or concerns about trusts or other documents that could be used to create the estate plan, please contact our trusts lawyers to schedule your free initial consultation today. In your free consultation with a trust lawyer, we will go over your legal options and help you determine the right path forward.
What is a Trust?
Trusts are legally binding agreements made between multiple parties, including the trust maker, who puts assets into the trust; the trustee, who manages the trust; and the beneficiary, who benefits from the trust. The trusts provide detailed instructions on how and why assets should be distributed from the trust to the beneficiaries. Some trusts, such as a revocable living trust, can operate and benefit individuals while the trust maker is still alive. Other trusts, such as testamentary trusts, activate upon death. There are several different types of trusts beyond these.
Regardless of the type of trust you choose for your estate plan, and you can have more than one, each type of trust is meant to help avoid the probate process and shield trust assets from creditors and claims so that the beneficiaries may reap the rewards of the trust without concerns.
If you would like more information on how to create, modify, revoke, or administer a trust, contact a Maryland attorney at our law firm to schedule your free case review today. Our trust attorneys have extensive experience in estate law and tax law and have the knowledge necessary to make your estate plan benefit you and your family members.
Do Trusts Afford a Certain Level of Asset Protection?
Baltimore trusts can be structured in such a way that it helps shield assets from potential creditors, lawsuits, and other liabilities. When you place assets into a trust, it allows you to safeguard your wealth and preserve your assets for you, your loved ones, and your family members.
To learn more about estate and tax planning and how trusts can benefit both, please contact our trusts lawyers to discuss your questions and concerns today. Our law firm has decades of experience representing clients and creating trusts and other related practice areas, making us uniquely qualified to handle your estate planning needs.
What is Involved in Trust and Estate Administration?
Trust administration is the process of distributing assets to named beneficiaries and managing a trust according to the language of the trust document. It falls to the responsibility of the named trustees. However, the designated trustee does not need to navigate this complicated legal process on their own. Many trustees reach out to trust attorneys for legal assistance throughout the trust administration process.
A trust attorney of our legal team can lend legal guidance to you in the following trustee duties:
- Advising trustees of their legal obligations
- Assisting successor trustees as they take over the responsibility of trust administration
- The identification of suitable assets to fund the trust
- Inventorying trust assets
- Preparing and filing tax returns, including estate and income taxes, on behalf of the trust
- Lending legal guidance with the management of trust assets for the duration of the trust
- Distribution of assets according to the instructions laid out in the trust document
- And more
The exact obligations of the trustee during trust administration will vary depending on the type of trust and the provisions of the trust agreement. For legal assistance, contact a trust lawyer at our law firm.
What Are the Risks of Not Hiring a Trust Administration Lawyer Serving Baltimore, Maryland?
As the trustee involved in the administration of a trust, you are under no legal requirement to retain professional legal representation from a trust lawyer. However, it is highly recommended that you do so, especially if the estate is larger or more complex.
Trusted administration can be a complicated legal matter that requires knowledge of tax laws, estate laws, and more. Without competent legal advice, there exists a chance of breaching your fiduciary duties, thus letting down both the trust maker and the beneficiaries. If you decline legal counsel, you also risk the chance of underfunding the trust, funding it inadequately, and making other common mistakes. The consequences could be most dire.
In order to minimize the potential risks of things going wrong, it is highly recommended that you retain a Baltimore County trust attorney to assist you throughout trust administration. Contact our law firm to schedule your free, no-obligation case evaluation today.
Who is the Trustee?
The trustee is the individual or entity responsible for managing trust assets and administering the trust throughout the duration of the trust’s lifetime. If the trustee passes away, a successor trustee must take over the fiduciary duties of managing trust assets. In some cases, it is possible to hire an experienced trusts lawyer to be the trustee for your trust. In other cases, a trustworthy family member or friend may be named the trustee.
What Different Types of Trusts Are Available in Baltimore, MD?
Several different types of trusts are available to clients in the Baltimore area.
These include:
- Charitable Trusts: A charitable trust can be used to reduce your tax burdens. These trusts help avoid gift taxes and other tax burdens while also benefiting your favorite charities.
- Generation-skipping trust: Another way to help reduce estate taxes and other tax burdens is by setting up a generation-skipping trust. Instead of leaving your assets and real estate property to your children, a generation-skipping trust passes down some or all of your assets to your grandchildren. This helps keep the wealth and assets within the family while also shielding you from certain taxes.
- Irrevocable trusts: Unlike a revocable living trust, which can be modified and changed by the trust creator at any time, irrevocable trusts cannot be easily changed once they have been established. These trusts are used to help shield estate assets and for tax planning purposes, as they can help reduce estate taxes and protect assets from potential claims, liabilities, and creditors.
- Living trusts: Also known as a revocable trust, a living trust is created and managed during the trust maker’s lifetime. Living trusts grant the trust creator the ability to transfer assets in and out of the trust and maintain control over those assets. Living trust can be revoked or changed at any time. They are favored for their ability to help avoid the probate process and uphold the privacy of the trust creators.
- Marital trusts: When one spouse dies before the other, co-owned assets may be moved into a marital trust. The income created by the assets within the trust would then be transferred to the surviving spouse. When the last surviving spouse passes away, the trust property is then distributed to their heirs.
- Medicaid or long-term care planning trusts: For those concerned about paying for senior leveling, such as nursing home care or in-home care, you may be interested in long-term care planning trusts. A Medicaid trust or long-term care trust allows you to put your assets into a trust, which may potentially help you qualify for Medicaid or long-term care planning benefits.
- Special needs trust: Special needs trusts, also sometimes referred to as supplemental needs trusts, are designed to provide financial support to family members or loved ones with special needs. There is a common belief that if you leave everything to a special needs loved one and then the inheritance, that they will be well taken care of. Unfortunately, doing so may disqualify them from eligibility for certain government assistance programs. A special needs trust helps maintain eligibility in government benefits programs while also providing for a better way of life for the special needs adult.
- Spendthrift trust: Assets and spendthrift trusts are protected from creditors while managed by trustees working to benefit designated beneficiaries. This type of trust is considered especially useful for beneficiaries who have difficulty holding on to their money and are being chased around by creditors.
- Testamentary trust: Testamentary trusts are created under the terms of wills. They only go into effect after the trust creator’s passing. Testamentary trusts are often used to offer additional financial support to children and other family members or to protect certain assets from being mismanaged by beneficiaries.
Do You Need to Work with an Estate Planning Law Firm When Creating and Administering a Trust?
Trusts can be daunting legal documents. Just navigating the legal process involved in a trust can be overwhelming at times. Luckily, nothing in the rule book says you need to go through this alone. A Maryland attorney can lend valuable guidance and support throughout the creation of the trust, the management of the trust, and the eventual close of a trust.
Experienced trusts attorneys can help you identify the most suitable type of trust for your estate planning needs while keeping in mind your goals, family dynamics, and financial circumstances.
Our law firm is home to some of Baltimore’s top estate planning attorneys, all of whom are ready and willing to provide you with dedicated legal representation throughout the estate planning process. For more information on how our trust attorneys may be of legal assistance to you during this challenging scenario, please contact our law firm to schedule your free consultation today. Our law firm operates across the Baltimore area, with offices in Glen Burnie, Bel Air, Essex, and Columbia, MD.
Do Trust Beneficiaries Need Representation for Legal Issues?
Sometimes, just as the trust creator or the trustee may require legal representation, so too might the beneficiary. Perhaps the beneficiary has found an urgent need for legal counsel after suspecting a breach of fiduciary duties at the hands of the trustee. If litigation or other legal matters become necessary, you want a trial lawyer in your corner who has seen similar cases before. Contact our law firm for a free consultation today.
What is Involved in Fiduciary Litigation and Trust Contests?
Estate planning is a difficult legal scenario regardless of the circumstances. But when you add in the loss of a loved one or disputes about the estate plan, things can get very heated very quickly. Legal matters involving estate litigation and fiduciary litigation are intensely personal. Our team will attempt to remain respectful while conducting a thorough preparation plan, carefully managing your case, and presenting persuasive arguments if your case should ever go to trial.
Contested trusts, misconduct by trustees, challenges made by beneficiaries, unclear language in the trust document, and correction of drafting errors are just a few of the legal issues that our trust attorneys can help you with.
To learn more about estate litigation, please get in touch with our law firm to schedule your free case review today.
Why Choose Our Law Firm for Your Estate Planning Services?
In addition to representing clients in creating, managing, and distributing assets in a trust, our legal team also has years of experience assisting clients with several other legal matters. In related practice areas, we can assist you with the creation of a living will, wherein your health care proxy will be able to make decisions on your behalf if you ever become incapacitated due to serious injury or illness. We can also help with the drafting of a last will and testament. The powers of attorney documents and other estate planning documents may also be necessary to complete a comprehensive estate plan.
Our law firm also represents clients in other practice areas, including criminal law, personal injury law, and elder law. This makes us uniquely qualified to act as a full-service law firm for all of your legal needs.
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation with Our Compassionate Baltimore Trust Attorneys Today
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the legal complexities that go into the creation or management of trust, try to remind yourself that other people feel the same way. Most of those people have taken it upon themselves to retain professional legal representation from experienced attorneys to assist them throughout the process. We are offering our services to you so that you can enjoy the benefits of the trust without worrying so much about the complexities of it.
Schedule your free consultation with our legal team today by calling us at 443-888-2062.