The Benefits Of Using A Trust To Protect Your Estate From Creditors

You can use a trust to protect your estate from creditors. By doing so, your creditors will not be able to take things from your estate. This helps your beneficiaries receive the assets set aside for them.

Going over the benefits of using a trust to protect your estate from creditors, and speaking with a Florida estate planning lawyer at Millhorn Elder Law Planning Group will help you develop a trust that satisfies your goals. 

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Trust To Protect Your Estate From Creditors? 

Developing a trust to protect your estate from creditors will prevent those creditors from taking things from your estate to satisfy what they claim you owe them.

Just as an example, if a healthcare provider claims that you owe them $25,000, they could take this money from your estate. And, this money could come from your bank accounts, or through liquidating some of your items.

On the other hand, if you develop a trust that protects your assets, those same creditors won’t be able to get anything from your estate. This is because, when you put assets into a trust, those assets are technically no longer yours.

Outside of that major benefit, putting your assets in a trust bypasses probate. Probate is long and expensive – your beneficiaries may not receive their assets for a year. Bypassing probate is often the best possible choice. 

What Are The Limitations Of Using A Trust To Protect Your Estate From Creditors? 

The state of Florida has laws in place that prevent you from developing a trust to defraud creditors. These laws can be invoked, if someone makes a claim against your estate.

A good example of the above is as follows: if you develop a trust to avoid paying $25,000 to this healthcare provider you owe, this healthcare provider could file a claim against your trust by claiming that you defrauded them.

In the event that a claim is filed against your estate, your trust may no longer hold up. Or, certain assets may be seized, in order to pay off those debts.

On top of the above, there are certain debts that you cannot avoid, even if you set up a trust. These debts generally include taxes, alimony, and child support. You may have assets taken from your estate, if you owe debts of this sort.

How Can A Lawyer Help You? 

A lawyer can go over your estate planning wishes and the assets that currently belong to your estate. This information can be used to develop a trust that satisfies those wishes and abides by the laws that govern Florida.

Just as an example, if you would like to bypass probate and bypass false creditor claims that you believe will be filed after your passing, a lawyer can help you develop a trust that does this.

A lawyer can also help your beneficiaries deal with potential challenges to the trust. This is useful if the trust is contested in any way. 

Speak With A Florida Estate Planning Lawyer 

If you would like to develop a trust, you should work with someone who can help. Speak with a Florida estate planning lawyer today and we will help you develop the trust you need.

Sources: 

law.cornell.edu/wex/trust

leg.state.fl.us/STATUTES/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0726/Sections/0726.105.html