Colorado Springs Trust Attorneys
Avoid Probate & Protect Your Wealth
A trust is a powerful tool that can be used to protect your family's future. With an estate plan based on one or more trusts, you can designate how and when assets are dispersed among your loved ones, avoid probate, and take advantage of tax and asset protection benefits.
At Drexler Law, we offer clients experienced and personalized legal services that include those pertinent to establishing a trust for an estate plan. Our attorneys have extensive knowledge of the latest legal trends to ensure that your estate is in good hands. We are committed to providing comprehensive advice and solutions tailored to each of our client's individual needs.
With years of experience serving individuals, families, and business owners, we are here to provide you with sophisticated legal solutions and peace of mind.
Learn more during a consultation with our trust lawyers in Colorado Springs. Contact Drexler Law online now or call (719) 259-0050 today.
What Are the Benefits of Having a Trust?
If you’re considering whether or not to establish a trust, we can provide the legal guidance you need to understand your options.
The following are several important benefits of having a trust:
- Allows you to transfer assets while minimizing taxes
- Can ensure that your estate is divided according to your wishes
- Offers protection from creditors and lawsuits
- Can provide testamentary instructions
- Gives flexibility when it comes to estate planning
- May offer asset protection benefits
- Can help avoid probate
When designing a trust in an estate plan, it is important to consider how particular assets can be transferred into the trust. Consult with Drexler Law to learn more about transferring assets into your trust – without losing any rights to use and control the property during your lifetime. Our trust attorneys in Colorado Springs can help you assess your needs and form and fund a trust that can secure your wealth for your family’s future.
What Is the Difference Between a Will & a Trust?
A will and a trust are two important legal documents to consider in your estate plan. That said, these documents serve different purposes. Understanding the differences between them is essential for making effective decisions for your estate plan – and your family’s future.
Wills are legal documents that distribute your assets after your death. They require probate, which can be a lengthy and expensive process for your loved ones. That said, having a will – especially a pour-over will – can serve as a useful backup to a trust.
Trusts, on the other hand, are beneficial because they allow you to manage your assets while you’re still alive. Trusts also avoid probate court, providing a much faster and more cost-effective way of managing your estate. Trusts are also often used to protect assets from creditors and provide tax benefits. Lastly, certain trusts can be irrevocable, meaning they cannot be changed once they’re established.
How Does a Trust Avoid Probate?
A trust can avoid probate by transferring ownership of property, investments, or other assets to a trusted third party (the trustee) who manages the assets for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. In the case of a revocable trust, such as a revocable living trust, the grantor can still benefit from trust property and avoid probate because the property isn’t counted as part of their estate for probate.
Probate avoidance is not only a trust’s most commonly sought-after benefit, it’s a defining feature. All trusts, whether set up as revocable or irrevocable, avoid probate.
How Does a Trust Protect Assets?
The same mechanism that helps trusts avoid probate can also protect them from the grantor’s creditors, lawsuits, and other liabilities. Certain trusts, particularly irrevocable trusts, offer asset protection benefits by titling themselves completely beyond the grantor’s control.
A revocable trust doesn’t offer asset protection benefits because the grantor can still alter the trust, but an irrevocable trust can provide these benefits because the grantor can’t amend its terms. For example, a creditor may be able to garnish your irrevocable trust to collect a debt, but they may not go after assets in an irrevocable trust you established with your children as the named beneficiaries.
Contact Drexler Law to Learn More
Our trust attorneys in Colorado Springs can help you understand the important benefits that having a trust can bring. When it comes to protecting your wealth for your loved ones’ benefit, as well as your own, our guidance can direct you toward making sensible solutions.
For more information or to request a consultation, contact us online.