6. Before signing the Statement of Confidence, check the spelling of your (i) driver`s licence; (ii) your birth certificate; (iii) your military records, (iv) your social security card, and (v) your home certificate. Ideally, the 3 should match, but there are often differences. If there are differences, all this should be explained in the statement of confidence to avoid future confusion. For example, in the above example of John Smith, Jr., the correct designation in the trust declaration would have been «John Smith, Jr., also known as John Smith.» Another example would be «John Alexander Smith, Jr., also known as John Smith, also known as John Smith, Jr., also known as «John A. Smith.» Sometimes you want to keep the trust owner confidential for one reason or another. If this is the case with your trust, it`s best to call it something that doesn`t include any of the names of the trust creators or people known to be associated with them. You can even name the trust after someone`s pet turtle. There are times when you want to keep the owner of the trust private. If confidentiality is an issue, it may make more sense to choose a name associated with the owner or creator of the trust, but not with their name itself. For example, you can name the approval after the family dog. It is easier to work with a shorter name because the longer the name, the more likely it is that there will be a spelling mistake or abbreviation on forms that do not have enough space.
Therefore, it would probably be better to name a trust, «Doe Family Trust of 17.03.19» rather than «John B. Doe and Jane R. Doe Revocable Trust.â Below are some frequently asked questions and answers about naming a living trust. One of the most common mistakes people make during the naming process is that they don`t use someone`s actual legal name. If you don`t use legal names, it can lead to problems with the validity of your property and identity. For example, if you are Bob Barker III, the suffix «III» is extremely important and should be included. 5. You must be precise about the spelling of names and use the actual legal names.
Surprisingly, I`ve found that many people ignore parts of their names like «Jr.» or «III.» I have had a serious case where legal ownership of property was not recognized because the creator of the trust, when he created the trust, did not tell the lawyer who prepared the trust that he was a «Jr.» because he never used the term. His father was long gone and he saw no point in using «Jr.» in his name. He therefore founded the trust without his full name, called it the «John Smith Trust of 1.1.05» and transferred his home to the trust as follows: «John Smith, as trustee of the John Smith Trust of 1.1.05». When he died, his daughter became a trustee. While dealing with legal matters at home, she presented a death certificate stating that her father was «John Smith, Jr.» Since John Smith, Jr. was not the name on the deed transferring the house to the trust, ownership of the house was questioned. The securities company involved wanted to know what to do with John Smith, Sr. Arrived. This dispute is still pending and prevents the sale of the house. The ultimate solution is to file a motion in court to prove to a judge that John Smith`s signature on the deed is in fact John Smith Jr.`s signature. Unfortunately, a lawsuit can take up to a year to go through the court system and cost several thousand dollars in legal fees and court costs. If you have acquired certain assets and want to distribute them in a certain way, it is in your best interest to speak to a qualified estate planning lawyer.
At Surovell Isaacs & Levy PLC, we understand what is at stake and will work to protect our clients and what is in their best interest through the creation and maintenance of a comprehensive trust and estate plan. To learn more or to arrange a consultation, contact us today! It is important to note that there is no law that determines how a trust is to be named, the person who creates the trust has the power to name whatever he wants. A word of warning, you should not be too generic with the name of the trust, as it will simply cause headaches for this type of business that we mentioned when they try to verify the existence of a trust. «The Music Trust» or «B Family Trust» are too general names that invite additional questions/explanations. So, when you deposit a bank account in your trust, you must rename the bank account in your name as trustee, followed by the name of the trust. For example, if someone named John H. Smith transferred his bank account to his trust called «The John H.
