San Antonio Trusts Attorney

Bexar County Estate Planning Lawyer for Living Trusts and Irrevocable Trusts

There are multiple estate planning tools that can help families plan for the future and ensure that the needs of all family members will be met. Trusts are one of the most powerful and flexible ways to safeguard the assets that a person owns and pass these assets to beneficiaries while providing for their own needs. A skilled and experienced attorney can help a family understand the different types of trusts that are available and the best ways to use these tools as part of a comprehensive estate plan.

Geoff Mayfield offers legal help to individuals and families during the estate planning process, ensuring that they can make use of the different tools available to meet their needs. He has over 15 years of experience in multiple areas of the law, and by providing clients with an understanding of the laws that affect them, he helps them take steps to protect their financial interests and plan for their future needs. He can advise you on the best types of trusts that you may use in your situation and ensure that these instruments are created and administered correctly.

Benefits of Using Trusts

A trust is a financial instrument and legal agreement in which the assets a person owns will be placed under the control of a trustee, who will be provided with instructions on how these assets should be used. Assets will be transferred into the control of a trust itself, which will provide some protection against creditors. A trust agreement will include instructions for how assets should be distributed to beneficiaries. Unlike a will, assets held in a trust will not need to be addressed during the probate process, and the terms of a trust are private and confidential.

Geoff can help clients establish multiple different types of trusts, including:

• Revocable living trusts - With these types of trusts, the person who creates the trust (known as the grantor) may serve as the trustee, and they may also be a beneficiary of the trust. This will allow them to use their assets to provide for their own needs during their lifetime, while ensuring that the remaining assets will be correctly distributed to other beneficiaries.
• Special needs trusts - While a person may wish to provide financial help to a loved one with disabilities or other special needs, simply giving them money or property may make them ineligible for public aid, such as Social Security disability benefits. By placing assets in a special needs trust and ensuring that they are used to provide for specific types of needs, family members can avoid issues that would affect a person's ability to receive public benefits.
• Charitable trusts - A person may use a trust to donate their assets to causes they believe in. These may include charitable lead trusts that are used to make donations throughout a person's lifetime or charitable remainder trusts that may provide for a person's needs while they are alive and donate the remainder of their assets to charity after their death.
• Irrevocable trusts - A trust agreement may completely remove assets from a grantor's control while providing a trustee with instructions for how the assets should be distributed to beneficiaries, which may include the grantor or other loved ones. This type of trust can be used to protect assets and ensure that they will be used properly.
• Testamentary trusts - In some cases, a person's will may state that the assets they own should be placed in a trust and distributed to their beneficiaries. This can protect assets and ensure that they will be used according to the person's wishes.

Contact Our San Antonio Trust Lawyer

Geoff Mayfield can explain the different types of trusts that may be used to benefit you and your loved ones. He will help you determine the best tools to use in your estate plan and ensure that your assets will be protected and distributed based on your wishes and your family's needs. Contact our office at 210-535-0870 to arrange a complimentary consultation. We assist with trusts and other estate planning issues in Frio County, Laredo, Seguin, Atascosa County, San Antonio, Medina County, New Braunfels, Kerrville, Guadalupe County, Bexar County, Kendall County, Hondo, San Marcos, Del Rio, Comal County, Blanco County, Wilson County, and Boerne.