Our Long Island Irrevocable Trust Lawyer Team Can Protect and Preserve Your Assets
A trust is an entity into which you can place assets like money or real property for the enjoyment of another during your lifetime or after you pass away. Trusts are generally one of two types: revocable or irrevocable. Whether revocable or irrevocable, after being created by the “grantor” or “settlor,” a trust is funded with one or more of your assets to be managed by a trustee. Contact a Long Island irrevocable trust lawyer for help creating your trust.
When it comes to an “irrevocable” trust, as the name would imply they are generally not subject to being revoked. While this might seem like an unattractive feature, it does provide several benefits. For example, irrevocable trusts could include the ability to place assets outside of the grantor’s taxable estate. In some instances, assets can be protected from creditors of the grantor. Also, one of the most popular uses of an irrevocable trust is to protect your assets from Medicaid.
Creating a trust that suits your specific needs and goals may require a complex and paperwork-intensive process that can be time-consuming and stressful. To minimize the stress and time associated with the process, it is helpful to work with a Long Island irrevocable trust lawyer for your estate planning needs.
If you would like to establish an estate plan that includes an irrevocable trust, reach out to Davidow, Davidow, Siegel & Stern and keep reading to learn more about how we can help you create one as well as potentially modify one that is already in place.
The Basics of an Irrevocable Trust
An irrevocable trust is created through the involvement of the following parties:
- The person who creates the trust (known as the “grantor” or “settlor”)
- The trustee or successor trustee, is the party responsible for managing the trust in line with your preferences
- The intended beneficiary or beneficiaries of the trust
When you establish a trust, the trustee holds legal title to the property you’ve transferred into the trust, while the beneficiaries hold equitable title to that same property in the trust. A trust is “irrevocable” in that you are unable to void the trust to reclaim the property in the trust without the consent of the beneficiaries, as we’ll discuss below.
What If I Change My Mind and Want to Modify an Irrevocable Trust?
While in most cases irrevocable trusts are not subject to amendment or revocation, your Long Island irrevocable trust lawyer can use a variety of estate planning tools and strategies to shift the terms of an irrevocable trust. The legal tools available to your estate planning attorney to modify your irrevocable trust vary in terms of their extent, goals, and procedures. Some options may involve judicial proceedings, while others require agreement among the beneficiaries to the irrevocable trust.
Who Can Modify an Irrevocable Trust According to A Long island Irrevocable Trust Lawyer?
An irrevocable trust may be modified, amended, or revoked in whole or in part when:
- The settlor proposes a partial or complete amendment AND
- The settlor gets the written consent of all beneficiaries to the trust
Get Started on Your Estate Planning with a Long Island Irrevocable Trust Lawyer
To establish an irrevocable trust or explore options to modify or revoke a trust that is already in place, the Long Island irrevocable trust lawyers from Davidow, Davidow, Siegel & Stern can help. Reach us by phone at (631) 234-3030, or make an appointment on this website and learn how we can help you accomplish all your estate planning needs.