Nevada’s favorable trust laws

On Behalf of | Jan 13, 2016 | Trusts

Nevada is one of the states viewed as having extremely favorable laws regarding trusts. The state allows a single individual to create a trust, be the trust’s beneficiary and place the assets of the trust outside their estate, which could be a particularly attractive arrangement for those wishing to keep assets out of the reach of creditors. Nevada also allows directed trusts that are able to name individuals to act as investment trustees and decide how funds will be managed.

As the laws concerning trusts have continued to evolve, their structure and mechanisms have become more specialized and sophisticated. In addition to general, administrative and investment trustees, modern trusts may have distribution committees to manage the way assets are allocated and trust protectors responsible for removing and replacing trustees. When it may be necessary to replace the assets placed in a trust, a substitutor may be appointed, and charitable selectors may be named to manage a trust’s philanthropic activities.

When changes in the laws concerning trusts leave older trusts in need of revision or allow improvements to be made, the contents of the old Nevada trust can be poured into a new trust via a process known as decanting. Trusts in Nevada can also include change in situs provisions that allow the trust to be moved to a different state. This can be a particularly useful feature for those concerned about future tax increases.

Experienced estate planning attorneys may recommend trusts for a number of reasons. Trusts provide settlors with a great degree of flexibility and keep the details of their estates away from the public scrutiny of probate. Modern trusts are also highly flexible, and many states allow changes to be made even to irrevocable trusts when called for by changing financial or family situations.