For many California residents, taking care of family members means executing estate planning documents that provide for loved ones after death. One way to do this could be through the creation of a trust. However, if not done correctly or not overseen by the right person, trust litigation could happen despite its creator’s best intentions.
Some California residents create trusts in order to provide for adult children with special needs. Some create trusts in order to provide incentives for their beneficiaries to get an education, participate in community service or buy a home. Others decide to create trusts in order to help ensure that the family’s wealth lasts through generations.
Protecting beneficiaries is often the goal of those who create trusts. They worked hard during their lives to take care of their families, and when it came time to contemplate how to take care of them after they are gone, they took the time to find the best way possible to continue that care. Whether a beneficiary is not the best with money, is a minor or has special needs that require careful planning to preserve much needed government assistance, a trust often provides the best avenue.
Whatever the reasons why a person creates a trust, it needs to be correctly documented and executed. Moreover, the right person needs to be chosen to administer the trust when its creator is no longer around to do so. When a trust fails to meet the requirements of current laws, it may be challenged. If a supposedly trustworthy person fails to meet up to the creator’s expectations, things could go wrong. In those instances, beneficiaries could spend significant time and money engaged in trust litigation.