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What Should You Know About
Establishing a Trust?
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• Does your prospective trustee have enough time to manage
your trust? Does he or she even want this responsibility?
• Do you have other family members who are willing to serve
as trustee if your chosen trustee cannot do so?
This last question leads to another key aspect of establishing
a trust – specifically, you can name a “co-trustee” to help manage
the trust, and also a “successor trustee” who can take over if the
person named initially fails or refuses to act in the capacity of
trustee. Again, you will want to put considerable thought into
whom you ask to take these roles.
And you don’t have to stick with individuals, either — you can
decide to ask a financial institution to serve as trustee. By hiring
such an institution, you will gain its objectivity and expertise,
but you still need to ask many questions about costs, services
provided, and so on.
Finally, as you develop your plans for a trust, consider
communicating your wishes and ideas to your family and anyone
else who may be beneficiaries of your estate. When family
members don’t know what to expect, disappointment and
frustration can follow. If you know your loved ones are on board
with your estate plans, you may feel even more comfortable in
putting these plans in place.
Edward Jones, it employees and financial advisors are not estate
planners and cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult
your estate-planning attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding
your situation.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local
Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
ou don’t have to be a CEO or multimillionaire to benefit
from a trust. In fact, many people gain advantages from
establishing one – so it may be useful to learn something about
this common estate-planning tool.
Why would you want a trust? For one thing, if you have highly
specific wishes on how and when you want your estate to be
distributed among your heirs, then a trust could be appropriate.
Also, you might be interested in setting up a trust if you’d like to
avoid the sometimes time-consuming, usually expensive and
always public process of probate. Some types of trusts may also
help protect your estate from lawsuits and creditors. Currently,
only a small percentage of Americans will be subject to estate
taxes, but estate tax laws are often in flux, so things may be
different in the future – and a properly designed trust could help
minimize these taxes.
If you decide that a trust might be right for you, you should
work with an experienced estate-planning attorney. Trusts
can be highly effective estate-planning vehicles, but they can
also be complex and varied – so you’ll want to make sure you
understand what’s involved.
One important decision will be to choose a trustee. The
trustee is legally bound to manage the trust’s assets in the
best interests of your beneficiaries, so your choice of trustee
is extremely important. Your first impulse might be to select
a family member, but before doing so, consider asking these
questions:
• Does he or she have the experience and knowledge to
manage your financial affairs competently?
• When called upon to make a decision that may affect other
family members, will your prospective trustee act in a fair
and unbiased manner?
• Will naming a family member as trustee create a strain
within the family?
Matt
Dudkowski,
AAMS® | Financial
Advisor | 1007 Mt Royal Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15223 | 412.487.3300
Matt
Dudkowski,
AAMS®
[email protected]
| www.edwardjones.com
Financial Advisor
.
Matt
Dudkowski
has been
1007
Mt Royal
Blvd a financial advisor with Edward Jones since 2002, serving individual investors in
the
Pittsburgh
area
from
his Shaler Township office. In January of 2015, Dudkowski accepted an invitation
Pittsburgh, PA 15223
to 412-487-3300
become a limited partner with the firm.
Since joining Edward Jones, Dudkowski has obtained the professional designation of AAMS®. Prior to Edward
Jones, Dudkowski, as a CPA, worked at the H.J. Heinz Company, and at Ernst & Young LLP.
He currently serves on the board of directors for Keystone Wellness Programs, a local nonprofit organization.
A native of Butler County and a graduate of the University
of Notre Dame, Dudkowski resides in Gibsonia with his wife,
two sons and daughter.
Matt Dudkowski has been a financial advisor with Edward Jones since
2002, serving individual investors in the Pittsburgh area from his Shaler
Township office. In January of 2015, Dudkowski accepted an invitation to
Shaler | Fall 2017 | icmags.com 9