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After a lifetime of building up wealth in Ashburn, do you know how you plan on passing it down? Call a local Loudoun County lawyer at the Legacy Law Centers to find out if a trust is the right tool for you.
Ashburn has exploded onto the map in the living memory of many of its older residents, growing over tenfold since the 1990s. Many families have moved here since the 90s, eager to build a better life in the more distant suburbs of Washington, DC – a picturesque slice of Loudoun County.
Offering a better life to your children and grandchildren takes a bit more than moving to the right neighborhood, however. It also involves building up wealth and assets you can leave behind for future generations. This means figuring out how to avoid paying unnecessary taxes, family conflicts, and mismanagement by those you leave it to.
The solution, as many of the wealthier families of the area already know, is careful estate planning and the use of tools like trusts. These are proactive legal measures that allow you to pass on your wealth with confidence. Fortunately, local Ashburn trust creation and administration lawyer Sam Mansoor can help you figure out which trust is right for you by maximizing all available benefits.
When you hear estate planning, chances are you think about a last will and testament. And with good reason, since a will remains the most common estate planning tool. Unfortunately, over 40% of Americans pass away without a valid will. The sad reality is, many of these people would likely be rolling in their graves if they could see how much wealth was lost to family conflicts or the probate process.
The good news is that there’s a solution to this problem. Trusts are, by comparison, a far more secure and flexible method of securing wealth and assets for your loved ones.
A trust works by transferring ownership of the given asset(s), properties, and belongings to a trust, with clear instructions for their management by a designated trustee in the case of your death or incapacitation. Because the assets are no longer in your name, they will not have to go through probate upon your death – avoiding all the costs, delays and complications associated with the Virginia probate process.
Trusts are also more private and difficult for family members to challenge. Most importantly, however, they are supremely flexible. Trusts come in a nearly endless variety of forms and specifications adapted to your situation, needs, and concerns.
Each trust is inherently unique to its creator and situation, but there are prebuilt types and categories with different strengths and requirements. These may all be adapted to various estate planning objectives and situations.
The most common type of trust, revocable, simply means the trust can be changed easily in terms of the assets in it, the rules for its management, or the trustee in charge of it. Most trusts made for estate planning purposes will be revocable, which allows you to create it now and adjust it if changes in your life, financial situation, career, or family call for it.
The other main category of trust, irrevocable, means that the trust is almost impossible to modify, and the assets within it are largely outside your control. Irrevocable trusts are often used for asset protection, tax optimization, and sometimes for Medicaid eligibility during long-term care planning.
FBTs are a popular choice for wealthy families and professionals who might be worried about threats from liability or creditors. Wealth placed into such a trust can be accessed or used for the benefit of family members but is largely out of reach for any creditors.
Increasingly popular for many aging Virginians in Ashburn and other suburban cities of Loudoun County, a grandchild trust allows you to pass on more limited wealth directly to your grandchild. This can be achieved without running the risk of them misusing or abusing the funds. Not only will they be safe from estate taxes, but they are also protected from misfortunes that may befall you or your grandchild. They will only be used for what you clearly designate, whether that is a college education or yearly tickets to the Washington Commanders.
If you have a loved one on government benefits, leaving them money or a home in your will could cause them problems, as those benefits have strict wealth and income eligibility requirements. Using a trust designed for that purpose by a trust lawyer allows you to help cover their needs and costs of living without harming their benefit eligibility.
These are just some of the many types of trusts available to individuals constructing an estate plan in Virginia. Each one can be adapted to the specifics of your situation, especially if you work with an experienced and attentive estate planning attorney.
Legacy Law Centers is a Loudoun County estate planning law firm ready to help Ashburn families preserve wealth for future generations.
If you work hard commuting to DC from Ashburn or taking the silver line into work and back each day, leaving a legacy behind to your loved ones makes it all worth it. For this reason, you should consider setting up effective estate planning mechanisms to protect your family and fortune.
In Ashburn, you can call Loudoun County estate planning lawyer Sam Mansoor at (571) 260-0827 to set up a conversation and answer all your trust-related questions.