Individuals in North Carolina who have a high net worth may want to consider creating a trust. Doing so can make it easier to transfer large sums of money in an orderly fashion after passing. However, it is important that an individual choose the right trustee to oversee this document. In most cases, a child or spouse is not going to be the right person for the job.
This is because a child may not have the skills or interest in taking on such a role. Furthermore, it could result in disputes between siblings or other beneficiaries within the family. A spouse may not be the best person to act as a trustee because there is a chance that he or she could get remarried. That may result in changes to the trust that the deceased individual may not have approved of.
A spouse may be vulnerable to undue influence from a child or other family members. This may be especially true if one child lives nearby while the other lives far away. To avoid family drama or other potential pitfalls, it may be best to simply have a professional oversee a trust. Doing so could be ideal from a liability standpoint, and the family would still have some control over the trust.
Developing a trust is part of the estate planning process that an attorney may help with. They attorney may describe the various trust options available and how to craft a document that fits a person’s needs. In some cases, a trust may be used alongside a will and other documents to create a thorough estate plan. Trusts might be preferable to wills because the trust’s terms take effect as soon as they are created.
