Fort Collins Trust Planning Lawyer
Northern Colorado Estate Planning Law Firm Experienced in All Aspects of Personalized Trust Planning
Fort Collins trust planning lawyer services from Colorado Estate Planning Law Center help individuals and families create customized trusts and estate plans designed to protect their assets, avoid unnecessary probate, and preserve their legacy.
If you are thinking about estate planning right now, you are on the right track. While it may be difficult to think about dying, it’s inevitable and even more problematic to leave your family without a good plan when nature takes its course. Although wills and trusts are two different estate planning tools, there is a lot of overlap. Ultimately, both make sure your assets are granted to the person of your choosing without any issue.
We help clients use wills, trusts, and other estate planning tools to preserve their wealth for the future. Whether you are a business executive, professional, investor, or you come from any other walk of life, we can address your concerns and provide the guidance you need to feel confident in your decision-making. Within our trust planning practice, we focus on helping our clients develop comprehensive and custom-tailored estate plans; and, when we work with you, meeting your individual needs will be our priority.
As a Fort Collins trust planning lawyer, Colorado Estate Planning Law Center helps clients choose the right trust strategy based on their family, assets, and long-term goals.
Make Informed Decisions About the Future with the Help of an Experienced Fort Collins Trust Planning Attorney
If you need guidance from a Fort Collins trust planning lawyer, Colorado Estate Planning Law Center is here to help. We can help set up a trust or draft a will. While we will help you every step of the way, we also think it’s essential that you know the difference between a will and a trust so that you can be an active participant in your estate and trust planning. Contact us today at (720) 776-2308 or contact us online to set up a no-cost initial interview.
While estate planning can be complex, it doesn’t have to be confusing. We recognize that spouses, parents, and other individuals have questions, and we know that developing a custom-tailored estate plan requires attentive legal support. We are more than happy to answer all of your questions; and, at the end of the process, you will feel confident knowing that you have a complete estate plan that implements solutions tailored to your specific goals and needs.
Working with an experienced Fort Collins trust planning lawyer can help ensure your estate plan reflects your goals while protecting your family and your assets for years to come.
What Is the Difference Between a Will and a Trust?
Despite the commerciality of these words, not everyone knows the difference between them. These differences are essential to know so you can decide if a will can meet all of your needs, or if you also need assistance in setting up a trust.
Personal Representative vs. Trustee
When you establish a will, you appoint a personal representative to manage your final affairs. When you establish a trust, you appoint a trustee who will be responsible for administering the trust according to the terms you establish.
Timing
This is one of the significant differences between both estate planning tools. A will does not take effect until you pass away, while a trust can take effect immediately after you create and fund it if you wish. Wills are subject to amendment throughout the course of your lifetime. You can update, revoke, or completely rewrite your will anytime you wish. When you pass away, your assets will be passed down to your beneficiaries as you wrote in your will.
Trusts, on the other hand, provide lifetime and after-death surety of your assets. This means as long as you have created and funded the trust, your assets will be legally managed for you throughout your life and once you pass away.
Legal Procedures
This is another crucial difference to note, especially for people who like to keep their business private and off-record.
A will must go through probate when the grantor dies. This is so the court can examine the will, see that the assets are appropriately distributed, and ensure that the will was legally drawn up and executed. This process can become particularly messy if someone disputes the validity of the will in litigation. While we help families navigate this process when necessary, we prefer to help families avoid this process whenever possible.
A trust, however, cannot be contested. A trust can entirely bypass probate as it does not need to undergo any legal proceedings before the assets are transferred to the beneficiaries. This means that a trust can remain completely private.
Property Distribution
With a will, you can leave any property you own to whomever you wish upon your death. However, if you own the property with someone else, this can complicate things. There might be a dispute about who is legally entitled to your portion of the property.
On the other hand, a trust can only distribute properties or assets that have been transferred into it. If you have a joint business or property, as long as it is properly placed in a trust, a dispute is unlikely to occur.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 5 by 5 rule in estate planning?
The 5 by 5 rule is an optional trust provision that allows a beneficiary to withdraw the greater of $5,000 or 5 percent of the trust’s value each year. It is not a legal requirement and does not apply automatically. It is a drafting choice that gives a beneficiary a predictable amount of access without handing over full control of the trust. An unused withdrawal right typically expires at the end of the year rather than accumulating. Whether it belongs in your trust depends on your goals, the size of the trust, and how much access you want a particular beneficiary to have.
What assets do not form part of an estate?
Not everything you own passes through your estate. Assets that transfer automatically at death, whether by contract, by how they are titled, or through a trust, generally bypass probate entirely. These include retirement accounts, life insurance, and annuities with a named beneficiary, payable on death and transfer on death accounts, real estate held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and assets properly titled in the name of a revocable living trust. Non-probate transfers follow whatever form was filled out, not your intentions, so reviewing them periodically is how you keep everything pointed in the same direction.
What assets typically do not pass through probate?
Assets that carry their own instructions for what happens at death typically skip probate. That includes accounts with a named beneficiary, property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, payable on death and transfer on death accounts, and anything properly titled in a revocable living trust. These transfers happen by contract or by title, not by court order. The transfers that fail are usually the ones nobody checked, such as a beneficiary designation left blank, naming your estate, or a trust that was signed but never funded.
Additional Services Offered By A Fort Collins Trust Planning Lawyer
Along with providing trust planning services, we provide several other complementary services to individuals, couples, and families in Fort Collins, CO. These include:
- Tax planning (including advice and strategies for minimizing estate and gift taxes)
- Business succession planning
- Assistance with real estate transactions
- Representation during the trust administration and probate process (including representation for navigating the legal process in the probate court when necessary)
- Other business law, real estate law, and probate law services
Our dedicated professionals have the knowledge required to assist with protecting your legacy for the future. Our team will provide advice and representation tailored to your unique needs, and we will assist you with making sound decisions with your best interests (and your loved ones’ best interests) in mind. To learn more about our estate planning, probate, and tax planning services, contact us to arrange a free initial consultation today.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Fort Collins Trust Planning Lawyer
Remember, wills and trusts both have unique advantages and disadvantages. You should always have a will, but in some circumstances, creating trusts can be a helpful addition to your estate plan. If you need help with a will, trust, or any other estate planning issues, our Fort Collins estate planning lawyers are here to help. Contact us today at (720) 776-2308 or contact us online to set up a free initial interview.
