In this article, the author discusses the four elements of trust: (1) consistency; (2) compassion; (3) communication; and (4) competency. Each of these four factors is necessary in a trusting relationship but insufficient in isolation.

Both credulity and trust have to do with a willingness to believe something, but credulity refers to believing something too readily or easily.

: readiness or willingness to believe especially on slight or uncertain evidence Her description of the event strains credulity. Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about credulity.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms credulity. Antonyms: incredulity, scepticism, suspiciousness, shrewdness.

A trust is a fiduciary relationship in which one party, known as a trustor, gives another party, the trustee, the right to hold title to property or assets for the benefit of a third party, the beneficiary.

A trust is traditionally used for minimizing estate taxes and can offer other benefits as part of a well-crafted estate plan. A trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party, or trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries.

Drawbacks of a Living Trust

• Paperwork. Setting up a living trust isn’t difficult or expensive, but it requires some paperwork.
• Record Keeping. After a revocable living trust is created, little day-to-day record keeping is required.
• Transfer Taxes.
• Difficulty Refinancing Trust Property.
• No Cutoff of Creditors’ Claims.

To help you get started on understanding the options available, here’s an overview the three primary classes of trusts.

• Revocable Trusts.
• Irrevocable Trusts.
• Testamentary Trusts.

Trusts can be established for a number of reasons. Among them:

• To manage and control spending and investments to protect beneficiaries from poor judgment and waste;
• To avoid court-supervised probate of trust assets and be private;
• To protect trust assets from the beneficiaries’ creditors;

Using a revocable living trust instead of a will means assets owned by your trust will bypass probate and flow to your heirs as you’ve outlined in the trust documents. A trust lets investors have control over their assets long after they pass away.

Assets That Don’t Belong in a Revocable Trust

• Qualified Retirement Accounts. DNY59/E+/Getty Images.
• Health Savings Accounts and Medical Savings Accounts.
• Uniform Transfers or Uniform Gifts to Minors.
• Life Insurance.
• Motor Vehicles.

Cons of the Family Trust

• Costs of setting up the trust. A trust agreement is a more complicated document than a basic will.
• Costs of funding the trust. Your living trust is useless if it doesn’t hold any property.
• No income tax advantages.
• A will may still be required.

A trust can be used to manage estate taxes, shelter assets from creditors and pass on wealth to future generations. A family trust is a specific type of trust that families can use to create a financial legacy for years to come. There are several benefits to creating one, though not every family necessarily needs one.

Among the numerous advantages of a family trust are: Avoidance of the probate process. If the grantor dies, the estate can avoid probate court, a substantial benefit over a simple will, where probate is commonplace for any assets not specifically enumerated. Avoidance of legal challenges of asset dispersal.

A beneficiary does not have to pay rent to live in a property held in the corpus of a trust (subject to the trust deed), any more than a person must pay rent to live in any property held anywhere (with the owner’s permission). the trustee can allow the trust to make no money. therefore no income. no distributions.

trustee

Family Trust income A trust does not have to pay income tax on income that is distributed to the beneficiaries, but does have to pay tax on undistributed income.

In the case of a property, a trust structure increases the chances that the asset will not form part of a person’s asset base in the event of legal or creditor action. It also gives the flexibility of distributing both income and capital gains to a group of people at the discretion of the trustee.

While the Settlor is alive, the Trust is administered solely for his or her benefit. Of course, a Trustee who is NOT a beneficiary cannot live free in Trust property because that would be a conflict of interest and a breach of duty for the Trustee. But even as a Trustee/beneficiary, living rent free is not allowed.

Putting money in a trust lets you pass property to someone in a structured way, where you can impose rules. For example, you might say that your beneficiary can’t use these funds to pay off debt. Or, you might impose rules on how old the beneficiary needs to be before she gains control over the money.

There isn’t a fixed minimum amount required to start a trust. You may want to check whether the institution where you plan to open a trust has any requirements, but they’re likely to be low. If you set up a trust yourself, it likely won’t cost you more than $100.

To oversimplify, the rule stated that a trust couldn’t last more than 21 years after the death of a potential beneficiary who was alive when the trust was created. Some states (California, for example) have adopted a different, simpler version of the rule, which allows a trust to last about 90 years.

In our experience, many Trustees fail to understand that Trust distributions must be made timely. In the case of a good Trustee, the Trust should be fully distributed within twelve to eighteen months after the Trust administration begins. But that presumes there are no problems, such as a lawsuit or inheritance fights.

To set up a trust fund, the grantor works with a lawyer to create the trust. You can also choose a financial advisor to work with to help you allocate your assets in the best way. The grantor names the trustee, often a family member or a financial institution.

Simple trusts may not hold onto the income earned by the principal, so they must distribute that income to beneficiaries (you can’t distribute the principal — also called the trust corpus — or pay money out of the trust to a charity). If the trust pays the taxes, the trust is taxed at trust income tax rates.

Dmitriy Fomichenko, President, Sense Financial Almost all the major banks offer trust accounts. What you need to do is to call their customer representatives and inquire about the features you require. Some of the options include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, US Bank, and TD Bank.

Many people find that they can successfully set up their own living trust without the help of a lawyer. Making a living trust takes a more work than writing a will because a living trust requires that you take the additional step of transferring property into the trust.

Wills and Trusts FAQs Deciding between a will or a trust is a personal choice, and some experts recommend having both. A will is typically less expensive and easier to set up than a trust, an expensive and often complex legal document.

When they pass away, the assets are distributed to beneficiaries, or the individuals they have chosen to receive their assets. A settlor can change or terminate a revocable trust during their lifetime. Generally, once they die, it becomes irrevocable and is no longer modifiable.

Sure you can write your own revocable living trust. The discussion of your need for a revocable living trust is in another of my articles, but it is safe to say that if you own real property and have a significant estate (over about $50,000), then you could use a trust and it would help your loved ones.