Richmond Trusts Attorneys

Helping Clients Find the Right Estate Planning Tools

If taking care of your family financially is a point of pride right now, it’s natural to wonder what will happen when you’re no longer here to provide for them. If you worry they won’t have quick access to the assets you leave them, you should consider making one or more trusts to safeguard your estate for your family.

The caring lawyers at Jurach, Tacey & Quitiquit, PLC have spent years providing estate planning services to Virginia residents worried about their family’s future. If you’re considering making an estate plan or adding a trust to an existing one, contact our Richmond, VA law firm to learn which estate planning documents are right for you.

What Are the Benefits of Trusts?

A trust is an arrangement in which you create a legal entity to which you can transfer ownership of your assets. Once you add your assets to the trust, they’re no longer legally in your name, as they belong to the trust for your chosen trustee to manage. This protects the property you wish to leave your family members when you pass away.

Trusts are among the most popular estate planning options because they boast certain benefits that living wills don’t have. In particular, trusts allow you to:

• Avoid the probate process so your family gets their inheritance without delay
• Offer your loved ones privacy since trust proceedings are not public
• Reduce estate taxes
• Provide protection from creditors
• Give you control over how your assets are distributed

Certain types of trusts can offer additional benefits, as there are trusts specifically meant for unique situations. So, if you have concerns about your children, spouse, or other family members left behind after your death, Richmond estate planning attorneys can help you find a trust that meets your needs. Contact our Virginia law firm to begin working on your estate plan with help from caring estate administration and planning lawyers.

What Are Some Common Types of Trusts in Virginia?

Whether you’re thinking about the future of your minor children or are focused on business planning as you create an estate plan, our attorneys can help you find the type of trust you need. Some of the most common trusts available to Virginia estate plans are:

• Revocable living trust, which lets you name yourself as the trustee so you can change or cancel the trust during your lifetime
• Irrevocable trust, which requires you to choose a trustee other than yourself so you cannot alter the trust, but can protect the assets from creditors and taxes
• Special needs trust, which lets you leave assets to a family member with disabilities without making them ineligible for government programs due to income
• Generation-skipping trust, which lets you transfer property to your grandchildren seamlessly while saving money on estate taxes

If you’re interested in the benefits of these or other trusts, you should consult a Richmond estate planning law firm. When you contact us, our experienced lawyers will consider your estate planning goals before recommending the optimal tools to improve your financial affairs. Whether you’re interested in living trusts, generation-skipping trusts, or other trust options, our legal team will assist you in making informed decisions as you create your estate plan.

What Is Probate?

One of the main benefits of including a trust in your estate plan is the ability to avoid probate. To understand why this is an advantage, you must first know what probate is. In short, it’s the legal process of authenticating a last will, making sure it’s valid before the wishes in the document are followed. Your personal representative must initiate the probate process with the court directly after your death.

Once the court confirms that the will is valid, the next step is paying any debts and taxes the estate owes. At the end of the probate process, the assets will be distributed to your heirs. This legal process can take more than a year, as probate law is complex, often requiring the personal representative to hire a skilled probate lawyer for help. Additionally, the probate process is public, so anyone can see the details of your estate.

If you’d prefer to keep these details private and want your family to get their assets as soon as possible, you should talk to Richmond estate planning lawyers about creating a trust so anything you transfer can bypass probate. Estate plans usually include a variety of popular tools, including trusts, last wills, living wills, family limited liability companies, durable powers of attorney, and more. So, if you want help making important decisions regarding your financial situation, you should discuss your options with an estate planning attorney from our Richmond law firm.

Why Should You Hire Richmond Trusts Attorneys?

At Jurach, Tacey & Quitiquit, PLC, we have assisted countless clients with their estate planning needs, no matter how straightforward or complex they are. So, if you’re considering making an estate plan that includes a last will, living will, trust, advanced medical directive, and a durable power of attorney, we’d be happy to assist you. We can also delve into more complex estate planning needs for unique situations, such as business succession planning, family limited partnerships, and specialty trusts.

Regardless of your estate planning goals, you can benefit from our law firm’s resources to create your first estate plan or update an oldplan. After all, we encourage our clients to regularly review their estate plans and make updates after significant life changes, such as second marriages, medical diagnoses, or the loss of loved ones. We’re here to help with a variety of estate planning tools and services, including wills, trusts, probate, estate administration, advanced medical directives, and more. If you want to talk to a skilled attorney, call our Richmond, VA law office at 804-531-5524.