A trust is a legal entity that holds assets for the benefit of another.  You may create a trust to help achieve goals and financial objectives that extend beyond investment planning such as:

• Providing financial independence and investment management for your family at your death
• Management of your assets if you become disabled
• The ability to make charitable bequests
• Assist with estate taxes

A trust is created by executing a legal document called a trust agreement.  The trust agreement names the beneficiary and trustee and contains instructions about the benefits available to the beneficiary, what the trustee’s duties are, when the trust will end, etc.

There are several types of trusts:

• Living Trust – established during your lifetime
  
• Testamentary Trust – established at your death
• Charitable Trust – established for the purpose of charitable bequests
  
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust – holds life insurance policies, proceeds to assist with estate settlement.

You may want to consider a Corporate Trustee to administer your trust.  Peoples Financial Advisors Trust Department has a long history of acting as a Corporate Trustee. We follow the guidelines set forth in the trust agreement. Our goal is to manage the trust assets for your benefit and your beneficiaries.

The use of a trust as part of an estate plan can be quite complex and you should consider working with experienced professionals. At Peoples Financial Advisors we have over 100 years of trust experience. We work with local estate planning attorney's and CPA’s in designing the appropriate trust strategies for our client’s needs.

If you believe you could benefit from a trust or would like to learn more, click on the link below.