Charles County Trust Attorney
Helping Clients Accomplish Their Estate Planning Goals
An effective, complete estate plan typically has several components, including a will, powers of attorney, a health care directive, and in many cases, one or more trusts. Like a will, a trust enables someone to legally pass on assets to designated beneficiaries.
Unlike a will, a trust does not go through the Orphans’ Court (Maryland’s term for courts that handle probate). Many people choose to establish trusts for this reason alone. Others with substantial resources hope to help their beneficiaries avoid inheritance taxes.
You can turn to Griffin Selby Law PLLC for help choosing trusts that may provide for a seamless transition of assets to selected beneficiaries for specific uses. A trust can also benefit your descendants with structured timelines for the release of funds or to enhance the lives of disabled family members without jeopardizing their continued eligibility for government assistance.
When you have such crucial decisions to make, you deserve the help of caring, experienced estate planning lawyers who will watch out for you. You need the help of the legal team at Griffin Selby Law PLLC. Call our law firm at 301-685-7873 to schedule a free consultation where we can discuss your unique needs and whether including trusts in your estate plan is right for you.
What Is a Trust?
When someone creates a trust, they transfer ownership of their assets from themselves to the trust. The funds and/or assets are then managed by a trustee whom they trust implicitly. In certain trusts, such as living trusts, the grantor or person who created the trust may act as trustee until they pass away.
The trustee has a fiduciary duty to act in accordance with the grantor’s wishes and instructions. If you have been named a trustee or are considering creating a trust, we recommend getting legal counsel from knowledgeable estate planning lawyers like Attorney Selby at Griffin Selby Law PLLC. We can help you administer a trust, navigate the probate process, or use creative legal documents that protect your assets and give you and your family peace of mind.
At our law firm, we offer transparent, flat-rate pricing so you always know what to expect. We’ll also listen carefully to your concerns and answer questions in terms you can understand. Call now to learn more about how trusts work and decide what type of trust matches your needs.
Which Type of Trust(s) Will Meet My Needs?
Trusts often involve many technical details that people find hard to understand if they are unfamiliar with them. Estate planning attorney Karen M. Selby enjoys helping clients select and design trusts that will provide them and their designated beneficiaries reassurance and peace of mind.
Common types of trusts include:
- Irrevocable living trusts, which relieve the grantor of some consequences of ownership of assets (such as taxation or liability) during their lifetime
- Revocable living trusts, which allow grantors to manage their assets throughout their lives before those assets pass on to named beneficiaries
- Special needs trusts for disabled children or other family members with disabilities
- Generation-skipping trusts, often used by grandparents to fund their grandchildren’s college educations and provide resources for other purposes
- Charitable remainder trusts that provide income to beneficiaries for the rest of their lives, with the remaining assets going to one or more chosen charities afterward
When you come in for a free initial consultation, we will listen carefully to your goals and translate those goals into estate planning recommendations, including adding one or more trusts to your estate plan. We’ll help you manage various assets, such as real estate, businesses, retirement funds, and more. We will also stand by to modify your estate plan when family events lead to significant changes, such as marriage, death, divorce, or adoption of beneficiaries.
Why Do I Need Estate Planning Lawyers to Set Up My Trust?
Estate planning and elder law can be surprisingly complex. Contrary to popular belief, a will or trust that you download online will probably not offer legal protection when you run into problems. With the complex probate process in Maryland, there is too much at stake to leave your family open to legal issues that come with poorly drafted estate plans.
When you hire estate planning lawyers like Attorney Selby, you can rest assured that your affairs will be in order and settled as quickly as possible. We can assist with various legal issues, including will contests, disputes among beneficiaries over the decedent’s property, creation of powerful trusts that give you control over how you leave an inheritance, and more. We can also craft living wills, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and other crucial estate planning documents.
If you live in Charles County, Calvert County, St. Mary’s County, or any of the surrounding areas of Southern Maryland, you can count on our legal team for excellent advice and representation. Contact us right away to learn more about how you and your loved ones can benefit from estate planning, such as creating trusts. We’ll use terms that are easy to understand so you can fully participate in every decision along the way.
Should You Hire Our Charles County Trust Attorney?
Creating an estate plan is an important endeavor. You should be sure that you have legal advice from professionals you can trust. From living trusts to wills and other trusts, we are the team you want by your side. We promise to present all your options so you can choose the right path for you and your loved ones. We’ll listen carefully to your needs and goals and match our services with the resolution you’re looking for.
If you choose to hire our estate planning law firm, we will work tirelessly to help you create or update your will and establish and manage any trusts that you decide to create. If applicable, we will help ensure that you title your assets to the trusts to prevent any unintended consequences. We are also your top choice when facing estate or trust administration on behalf of a loved one.
Don’t take any chances with so much on the line. Contact our friendly, caring legal team today. To reach the Waldorf law offices of Griffin Selby Law PLLC, call 301-685-7873 or use our online inquiry form.