Can A Trust Preserve Your Assets? Our Port St. Lucie Attorneys Will Show You.
Last updated on March 26, 2026
A trust is a type of financial arrangement. It allows a third party called a trustee to manage assets for the benefit of a third party known as the beneficiary. The sooner you create a trust, the sooner you have reassurance that your assets will pass smoothly to the next generation.
At The Siegel Law Firm, P.A., we have created trusts with the people of Port St. Lucie and Jupiter since 1982. Our estate planning attorneys sit down with you to discuss the long-term benefits of incorporating trusts into your estate plan. As long-established members of this community, we care deeply about helping you protect your wealth for your inheritors. We can help you through the process of creating trust instruments as part of a coordinated, comprehensive estate plan.
Types Of Trusts
- Living trust: With a living trust, you will retain greater control of the assets that will be distributed and how they will be distributed. A living trust is often more efficient in its distribution of assets than a will would be.
- Special needs trust: Parents of children with special needs can use a special needs trust as a way to manage the ongoing care and provision of their child. Like other trusts, a special needs trust creates a trustee charged with managing the trust, its investments and distributions.
- Asset protection trust: This type of trust is created to help shield your assets from creditors. There are numerous limitations, benefits and nuances involved in asset protection trusts, but our lawyers can help you determine whether this type of trust benefits you and your family.
- Charitable trusts: You can leave assets or other resources to charitable organizations of your choosing to support their mission with minimal tax penalties.
- Legacy trusts: Intended to span multiple generations, legacy trusts remove assets from your personal estate for the benefit of beneficiaries across multiple years or decades.
These are just a few of the possible trust instruments available to you as you create an estate plan. While this list might look confusing at first, our attorneys have a wealth of knowledge and experience handling trusts like these. We can help you find the best instruments for your needs and make sure you have an effective estate plan.
Understanding Revocable Versus Irrevocable Trusts
All trusts fall into two broad categories:
- Revocable trusts: A flexible tool that you can change or cancel at any time while you are alive. You act as the trustee and maintain full control over the assets. You can add property, sell assets or change your beneficiaries whenever you wish. The primary goal of this trust is to help your family avoid probate. Because the trust remains under your control, the assets are considered part of your estate for tax purposes and by most creditors.
- Irrevocable trusts: An irrevocable trust is more permanent. Once you transfer assets into it, you generally cannot change or revoke it. You effectively give up control of those assets to the trust itself. While this may sound restrictive, it offers advantages that a revocable trust cannot. Because you no longer own the assets, they have protection from creditors and legal judgments. They can help reduce estate taxes or assist in qualifying for certain government benefits.
Our estate planning lawyers can help you weigh the benefits of both revocable and irrevocable options to find the best fit for your family.
Contact Our Trust Lawyers Today: Free Consultations
A well-written, comprehensive estate plan provides important peace of mind. You will know that everything is accounted for and will be transferred according to your wishes. Call our office in at Jupiter 561-680-4959, call our Port. St. Lucie office at 772-292-0780 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.