Memphis Trust Administration Attorneys

Lawyers For Creating a Trust and Providing Trustee Services in Shelby County

A trust is a useful tool that not only helps you protect your assets throughout your life but also gives you a significant degree of control over how you distribute your assets to your beneficiaries after your death. If you are interested in creating a trust, you should keep in mind that every trust needs a trustee, the person who holds the assets and manages and disperses them according to your wishes. When you put your property in someone else’s hands, it is important that you can trust them to treat it with the care and attention it deserves.

At Douglass & Runger, PLLC, Attorneys at Law, we are experienced with the legal process of establishing a trust, and we can work with you to create one or more trusts that meet your unique needs. However, where we truly go above and beyond is in our trust administration services. We will serve as your trustee and ensure that your assets are handled with respect for you and your beneficiaries.

Common Types of Trusts in Tennessee

In Tennessee, a variety of trust types and structures are available depending on your needs. Three of the most common are:

• Revocable living trusts: A living trust holds some or all of your assets during your lifetime and allows you to access them if necessary. You can modify or revoke a living trust at any time until your death, after which the assets will be distributed to the trust’s named beneficiaries according to a plan that you have created. One benefit of a living trust is that the assets are not subject to the probate process.
• Special needs trusts: A special needs trust is usually established to distribute assets to a person with special needs during their lifetime. It can be useful when someone has been awarded a significant sum of money, often in a settlement or lawsuit, that would affect their eligibility for many benefits including Social Security benefits, veteran’s benefits, public housing, and Medicaid, all of which may require the recipient’s income to be below a certain level.
• Irrevocable trusts: When you create an irrevocable trust, you no longer have access to the assets included, and you cannot make any changes to the trust after it is created. Irrevocable trusts offer additional protection from creditors and lawsuits, and they can also help you avoid federal estate taxes.

Special needs trusts and irrevocable trusts require a trustee other than the person who establishes them. While you can be the trustee of your own living trust, naming another trustee can relieve you from responsibilities that require your time and energy.

Benefits of Our Shelby County Trust Administration Services

There are many benefits to choosing us as your trustee, no matter the type of trust you are looking to establish. For example, we offer:

• Personalized service: We provide each of our trust administration clients with individual attention no matter the size of the trust, and in fact, we will serve as a trustee for smaller trusts when some other trust companies will not. We always keep an open line of communication so you can come to us with any questions or concerns.
• Low annual fee: The administration fees at some trust companies can be cost-prohibitive if you do not have a certain level of wealth, but we offer trust administration services for minimuman annuals fee starting as low as $3,500 depending upon the nature of the trust administration.
• Legal knowledge and experience: With our experience as estate planning attorneys, we have a breadth of knowledge on trust creation and administration, and we also have significant experience in business law and family law, which is often an asset when challenges arise with beneficiaries.
• Buffer between challenging beneficiaries: As your trustee, we take responsibility for the distribution of assets to your beneficiaries, as well as communication with them. This can be helpful in cases involving a beneficiary who attempts to raise disputes regarding the administration of the trust or who is prone to handling the assets irresponsibly.