When weighing out the different ways you can protect your assets, some excellent ways you can achieve this is through setting up a trust.

Setting up trusts online is one of the most effective ways to look out for your loved ones financially and plan for their future. Moreover, by setting up trusts online, you can keep your assets safe while also ensuring that they’re appropriately managed and distributed to your loved ones.

However, whether it’s because of the legal processes involved or fearing loss of control, many struggle when it comes to getting started with setting up a trust.

Yet, this doesn’t take away from the fact that setting up a trust is a crucial step if you want to preserve your legacy for future generations.

In this article, we will take a closer look at some of the top reasons to set up a trust and why it may be the right choice for you.

Let’s get started!

1) Protects Your Assets

As the years go by, there is a rising concern regarding protecting your assets. One of the biggest reasons to have a trust is that it plays a vital role in keeping your assets safe.

Instead of directly passing on your belongings to your beneficiaries, you can place them in certain types of trusts to account for changing circumstances. For example, if your loved ones are affected by any factor that may influence them and lead to unwise spending decisions, setting up a trust can protect your assets.

In this way, trusts allow you to look out for your family while ensuring that they are capable of looking out for themselves.

2) Offers Choice and Flexibility

One of the best aspects of trusts is their flexible nature which allows you to tailor them to your exact needs.

When setting up your trust, you may feel ready to pass on your assets and know exactly who you wish to pass them on to. However, life is always prone to change and as such the way you initially planned to distribute your assets may no longer be appropriate 10-20 years later.

By putting your assets in a discretionary trust, you can give your appointed trustee the power to react to these changes. As a result, allowing for a fairer distribution that is in everyone’s best interests.

However, due to the immense responsibility held by trustees, you need to be cautious and carefully select a trustworthy person for this role.

3) Low Maintenance Estate Planning

Amongst the top reasons to have a trust is that they are easy to set up and require relatively low maintenance.

While you may need to update your estate plan after significant life events, like the birth of a child or the purchase of a new asset like a car, trusts rarely need to be amended.

4) Protects Vulnerable Loved Ones

In certain circumstances, your loved ones may face challenges like mental health issues or disabilities that may make them incapable of managing their own finances.

To combat this, there are various types of trusts to help you look out for their best interests. For example, trusts for vulnerable people ensure that their assets are held by the trustees, keeping the disabled individual as the principal beneficiary.

Alternatively, if you wish to set up a trust for a family member who may be influenced into using your assets unwisely, you could set up a discretionary trust. This type of trust provides your trustee with the authority to decide if and when to pass along your assets to the beneficiary.

5) Minimises Tax

It’s not a bold claim to say nobody enjoys paying inheritance tax. However, what if there was a way you could reduce the tax you would have to pay?

A trust allows you to temporarily store your assets and takes away your ownership for tax purposes. As a result, only the items you initially put into the trust would be counted for tax.

Moreover, only the initial value of the items you put into your trust would be counted. As such, if the value of any of your assets within the trust has increased, that extra value is not touched by inheritance tax. Thus, making sure more of what you leave behind goes to your near and dear ones.

6) Maintains Your Privacy

If you’ve always worried about protecting your privacy, a trust is an effective way to uphold confidentiality when handling probate proceedings.

You can rest assured that a trust always operates discreetly and keeps all your financial affairs confidential. In fact, one of the biggest reasons to have a trust is that it allows you to keep your family’s financial details private and out of the public eye.

7) Avoid Legal Hassles

Let’s not forget that by putting your assets into a trust, you can save a great deal of time and avoid having to obtain a Grant of Probate altogether. This will surely provide great relief to your family and save them from extensive paperwork and unnecessary legal fees.

Conclusion!

As you can see, there are countless reasons to have a trust. Setting up a trust is an effective way to ensure your loved ones are well-cared for in the future and provide your family with more peace of mind. So if setting up a trust sounds like the right legal decision for you, make sure you get started as soon as possible.