Why have a Trust?

A Trust is an agreement that holds and controls property of one or more persons to provide benefits from that property to another group of persons. A Trust allows you to set up rules that you, and/or others you designate, follow to distribute income and property to others.  You can benefit from the property while you are alive. The rules survive you (or your competence) allowing you to do things with your property long after you have died or lost the ability to manage it. A Trust can also reduce costs and taxes that would be incurred if you passed your property down using a Will. A Trust can also streamline the process and timing of passing property onto others following your death and do much of that out of the public eye.