Trust

The Schriever Law Firm serves as Spanish Fork trust lawyers, helping clients build practical plans that reflect their assets, family relationships, and long-term goals. Utah law provides several ways to create and administer trusts, but the document must be properly designed and funded to work as intended.

Based in Spanish Fork and serving Utah Valley, our team brings straightforward communication, careful preparation, and client-focused service for individuals and families when it comes to trust planning.

What Is a Trust?

A trust is a legal arrangement in which a settlor creates the trust and places property under the control of a trustee for one or more beneficiaries. In many estate plans, the person creating a revocable living trust also serves as the initial trustee and beneficiary during life, then names a successor trustee to act later.

Utah Code § 75B-2-401 recognizes several methods of creating a trust, including transferring property to another person as trustee or declaring that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee. Section 75B-2-402 generally requires capacity, intent to create the trust, a proper beneficiary or legally permitted purpose, and duties for the trustee to perform.

Importance of Having a Trust in Spanish Fork

A properly structured trust can provide a framework for managing assets during incapacity and distributing trust property after death. It can also allow parents to set terms for when and how younger beneficiaries receive property rather than requiring an immediate distribution.

Trusts may be useful for families with real estate, business interests, blended-family concerns, or beneficiaries who need continued financial oversight. They can also name a successor trustee to act when needed.

Still, a trust is not automatically the right answer for every person or every asset. The decision should account for property ownership, beneficiary designations, family circumstances, tax considerations, and the rest of the estate plan. Good planning starts with identifying the result the client wants to achieve.

Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts in Utah

One of the first decisions is whether a trust should be revocable or irrevocable. Under Utah Code § 75B-2-602, unless the terms expressly provide that a trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it. Thus, a revocable living trustoffers flexibility when family circumstances, property, or planning goals change.

An irrevocable trust generally limits the settlor’s ability to change the arrangement or reclaim property under its terms. These trusts may serve particular planning goals, but the loss of control makes careful drafting especially important.

A revocable trust should not be treated as automatic creditor protection. Utah Code § 75B-2-505 states that, during the settlor’s lifetime, property in a revocable trust is subject to the settlor’s creditors. Asset-protection planning calls for a separate review of the client’s goals, property, and legal options.

Funding a Trust

Signing a trust document is only one step. The plan must also address which assets should be transferred to the trust and which should pass through another method, such as a beneficiary designation. Depending on the asset, funding may require changes to title, assignments, or other ownership records.

That matters because Utah law recognizes trusts created through transfers of property to a trustee or declarations that identified property is held in trust. If an asset remains outside the trust and no other effective transfer arrangement applies, the trust terms may not control that asset.

Trustee’s Responsibilities

A trustee has legal responsibilities, not simply a name on a document. Utah Code § 75B-2-801 requires a trustee who accepts the role to administer the trust expeditiously and in good faith according to its terms, purposes, and the interests of beneficiaries. Section 75B-2-802 also imposes a duty of loyalty, requiring administration solely in the beneficiaries’ interests.

Those duties can include managing trust property, maintaining records, making authorized distributions, and following the trust’s instructions. A successor trustee may need to perform these tasks while the family is dealing with a death or incapacity.

When Should You Create or Review a Trust?

There is no single age or asset level at which every Utah resident needs a trust. The better question is whether a trust would help accomplish the client’s goals more effectively than a will, beneficiary designation, or another planning tool.

Trust planning may deserve another look after marriage or divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, a major change in assets, the purchase of real estate, the start or sale of a business, a move to another state, or a change involving a trustee or beneficiary. Existing trusts should also be reviewed periodically so their instructions continue to match current relationships, property, and law.

How The Schriever Law Firm Helps With Your Trust

Planning for a trust should begin with the client’s life, not a standard form. At The Schriever Law Firm, we take time to understand what you own, whom you want to protect, who should make decisions if you cannot, and how you want property handled in the future. That reflects our firm’s established approach of listening first, explaining options clearly, and building a legal strategy around the client’s goals.

Our role can include preparing revocable living trusts, reviewing existing documents, helping clients amend or restate trusts as circumstances change, coordinating trust funding, and advising families or trustees about administration. When a trust is part of a broader estate plan, we can also help clients consider how related documents, ownership arrangements, and beneficiary designations should work together.

Are You Ready to Create Your Trust in Utah?

If you are looking for trust lawyers in Spanish Fork, UT, our team can help you decide whether a trust fits your goals and build a plan suited to your family and property. If you are ready to create, review, or update a trust, our lawyers are ready. Contact us today to get started!