Protect Your Beneficiaries With A Testamentary Trust
You may want to leave assets to your children without giving them full control of a large inheritance at a young age. A testamentary trust can help you decide how and when those assets will reach the people you care about.
At Boon Calk Echols Coleman & Goolsby PLLC, we help individuals and families throughout Longview and East Texas create estate plans built around their specific goals. A testamentary trust lawyer in Longview, Texas, can help you determine whether this type of trust belongs in your plan.
What Is A Testamentary Trust?
A testamentary trust is created through your will. Unlike a living trust, which generally exists during your lifetime, a testamentary trust takes effect after your death through the probate process.
Your will can name the trustee who will manage the trust and explain how that person should use or distribute the property. This gives you greater control over an inheritance even after you are gone.
A testamentary trust may be especially useful when you want to:
- Protect an inheritance for a minor child
- Avoid giving a young beneficiary a large lump sum at once
- Set ages or milestones for staggered distributions
- Provide continuing financial support for a vulnerable beneficiary
- Choose a trusted person to manage assets until the beneficiary is ready
For example, instead of allowing a child to receive an entire inheritance at age 18, your plan might direct the trustee to make distributions over several years or use trust funds for education, health and other important needs.
Your Will Provides The Foundation
Because a testamentary trust is created through a will, careful drafting matters. Texas law allows property to pass through a will into a trust created at death, and probate courts may address the interpretation and administration of testamentary trusts connected with a probated will.
Your will should clearly identify important terms, including:
- Who will serve as trustee
- Which assets will fund the trust
- Who will benefit from it
- When distributions should occur
- What authority the trustee will have
Unclear or incomplete language can create uncertainty for the people who must carry out your wishes. We work with clients to build a will with trust provisions that accurately reflects what they want to accomplish.
Estate Planning And Probate Experience Under One Roof
Our firm has served Longview and East Texas since 1998, and our practice includes both estate planning and probate. That combination matters when creating a testamentary trust because the plan you make today must eventually work within the probate process.
We prepare carefully, address the details and help clients create practical plans designed to protect their families. It reflects the approach our firm brings to every matter: Always Prepared. Never Outworked.
Build A Plan That Protects Your Family
You have worked hard to build what you intend to leave behind. Make sure your estate plan explains exactly how you want those assets handled.
Contact Boon Calk Echols Coleman & Goolsby PLLC today for a free consultation with an experienced East Texas estate planning attorney. Call our office at 903-704-0592 or get in touch via email.
We help families in Longview and communities throughout East Texas create comprehensive plans for the future.