In order to control how your assets are passed along to your family, charities, or other entities of your choice, you can often simply make your intentions very clear in your last will and testament.
But other situations are more complex and require additional planning. This is when opening a trust account can help. Here are 5 reasons you might need a trust.
1) You Want to Protect Your Assets From Creditors
You can accomplish this by setting up an irrevocable trust. Under this arrangement, you relinquish control of your assets to the trust, such that you no longer legally own the assets nor can you control how they’re distributed. It’s a trade-off.
Pros: A future creditor cannot satisfy judgment on assets in an irrevocable trust.1
Cons: You give up control.