What is needed to start a truste fund for a deceased friend's child?
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Answer:
A trust can be created during a person's lifetime and survive the person's death. A trust can also be created by a will and formed after death. Once assets are put into the trust they belong to the trust itself, not the trustee, and remain subject to the rules and instructions of the trust document. Most basically, a trust is a right in property, which is held in a fiduciary relationship by one party for the benefit of another. The trustee is the one who holds title to the trust property, and the beneficiary is the person who receives the benefits of the trust. While there are a number of different types of trusts, the basic types are revocable and irrevocable.
It is possible to create a trust without the assistance of an attorney. The most basic steps to creating a trust include:
1. Execute a Declaration of Trust. This will describe the nature and purpose of the trust, name the trustee(s), beneficiary(ies), other parties involved, the requirements for decision-making by the trustees (including any delegation of decisions), the trustees’ powers to invest and distribute trust assets, and other powers of the trust.
2. Transfer / place property and assets into the trust. The trust becomes the legal owner of the property. However, you can keep control over the trust by appointing yourself the trustee.
You should choose yourself and/or another trustworthy person to be trustees of your trust. . You should also choose successor trustees in case you or your co-trustee can not perform the duties of the trust. The property placed in a trust must exist and be owned by the principal. The property can be real estate, personal, intellectual, or transferable interest.