"IF YOU WILL®: Short Takes on Estates, Taxes and Trusts” is a quarterly glance through an informal lens at selected news items, court decisions, legislative changes and/or important issues pertinent to estate planning. It is primarily intended to inform and entertain you. But if it causes you to pick up the phone and call us with a legal question, we won’t complain; and if it inspires you to examine our more in-depth legal updates, you can view them in the “Publications” section of our website at burnslev.com.

Should you "trust" your family legacy?

There is a popular misconception that trusts and trust funds are only for the ultra-wealthy, the people who can afford teams of lawyers and advisers to captain the ships of long-standing family empires. But the fact is that trusts are usually not difficult to set up, can be administered affordably, and can serve many different purposes that fit the needs of many kinds of families, including:

- Sheltering your family legacy from state or federal estate taxes;•

- Protecting your family legacy from creditors or predators;•

- Protecting family members from their own spendthrift ways;•

- Funding special needs care in the future; and•

- Avoiding the fees, delays and public records associated with probate.•

This edition of “If You Will” provides a brief overview of some of the most commonly valued benefits associated with family trusts, as well as some suggestions for naming a responsible trustee.