Trusts

Knowledgeable Trust Attorney
Serving Celina, Frisco, McKinney, Prosper TX & the Surrounding Areas

At The Cawlfield Law Firm, PLLC, our trust attorney provides personalized, solutions-focused legal guidance to clients across the Celina, Frisco, McKinney, Prosper, TX areas. We know that there are no one-size-fits-all answers in trust planning. If you have questions or concerns about trusts, asset protection, or estate planning in general, our team can help. To set up a strictly confidential, no-commitment initial consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney, please contact our Celina, TX law office today.

Trust Planning: What You Need to Know

What is a Trust?

A trust is a legal relationship between one person, the trustee, having equitable ownership or management of the certain property and another person, the beneficiary, owning the legal title to that property. The beneficiary is entitled to the performance of certain duties and the exercise of certain powers by the trustee, the performance of which may be enforced by a court of equity.

How Do Trusts Actually Work?

Trusts are created so that a third party can hold assets based on a written declaration which chooses the trustee and future trustees. Assets are given by the creators or added by others. The profits can be distributed to beneficiaries during the life of the trust, and the remaining amount is often distributed after the death of the creator of the trust.

What are the Benefits of a Trust?

Trusts are one of the most effective and useful estate planning tools available in Texas. There is a common myth that setting up a trust is only useful for people who are quite wealthy—that is simply not the case. Many individuals and families in our region can incorporate trusts as part of a comprehensive estate plan. Some notable benefits of setting up a trust include the following:

Avoid Probate - Probate can be a slow and frustrating process. When structured properly, a trust allows assets to avoid probate.
Reduce Taxes - In some cases, trusts can be used to reduce tax liability—saving more money for the people and causes that you care about.
Protect Privacy - While probate is a public process, trusts are largely confidential. You can use a trust to preserve your estate and your family’s privacy.
Achieve a Purpose - Some trusts are used to achieve specific purposes. From leaving money to a charity to putting conditions on financial benefits, trusts are flexible tools.
Flexibility - Trusts can be flexible tools. Many types of trusts can be easily altered to adjust for life’s ever-changing circumstances.

An Overview of the Most Common Types of Trusts

We can assist you with the full range of trusts. At The Cawlfield Law Firm, PLLC, our estate planning lawyer will make sure that you have the proper estate planning documents in place for your specific situation. Some of the most common types of trust include:

Revocable Living Trust

Created to handle the trustors’ assets (trustor acting as initial trustee), a revocable trust only becomes irrevocable on the death of the first trustor. This type of trust is also often called “living trust’ or “inter vivos trust.” One of the most popular estate planning tools, revocable living trusts are flexible and efficient.

Testamentary Trust

A testamentary trust can be created by a will to manage assets given to beneficiaries. Most often, testamentary trusts are used when the beneficiaries are young or disabled.

Irrevocable Trust

An irrevocable trust is a type of trust which cannot be changed at any time. With an irrevocable trust, the assets transferred will be effectively removed from the ownership of the grantor.

Charitable Remainder Unitrust

Also known as a CRUT, a charitable remainder unitrust provides for the eventual guaranteed distribution of the corpus (assets) to charity, offering a substantial tax benefit in the process.

Educational Trust

You may want to set up a trust to provide financial resources for a child, grandchild, or other loved one’s education. Through a trust, you can put conditions on the benefits.

Special Needs Trust (SNT)

Sometimes called a supplemental needs trust, this type of trust lets people leave property and assets to disabled or otherwise vulnerable loved ones without undermining their eligibility for much-needed government benefits, such as Medicaid and Social Security disability.

There are also many other types of specialized trusts that are used in unique situations. For example, this includes “constructive” and “resulting” trusts declared by a court for equitable reasons over property held by someone for its owner. No matter your specific situation, our trust planning lawyer can help you craft the right strategy for your situation.

How Our Texas Trust Attorney Eddie Cawlfield Can Help

With a unique and diverse background, Attorney Eddie Cawlfield is committed to helping clients craft estate planning solutions that are truly best for them and their families. We will let you know if a trust is the most effective estate planning tool for your situation. When you reach out to our law office, our trust planning attorney will:

Conduct a comprehensive assessment of your case
Answer your questions about trusts and trust planning
Devise a customized estate planning strategy that best achieves your goals

You deserve personalized guidance from an experienced Texas trust planning lawyer. We always put in the time and energy needed to understand your needs and take action to build an effective, reliable estate plan. We believe in helping people find security and peace of mind through careful planning.

Contact Our Trust Attorney for Legal Assistance Today

At The Cawlfield Law Firm, PLLC, our Texas trusts lawyer is a skilled and diligent advocate for individuals and families. With extensive experience in estate planning, we will help you put together the right plan to protect your loved ones and achieve your goals.

If you have questions or concerns about trust planning, we are available to help. For a confidential, no-obligation initial consultation, please contact us right away. With an office in Celina, our law firm serves communities throughout the region, including in McKinney, Frisco, Prosper, Celina, Denton, Melissa, Sherman, Gainesville, Anna, and Sanger.