You can establish a family trust in British Columbia to have your family members receive benefits from your assets. It is a popular way of safeguarding your financial legacy and securing your loved ones’ future.
Instead of a separate legal entity, family trusts in BC are relationships between a grantor, a trustee, and beneficiaries. You are a grantor if you move your assets into a family trust. The trust can also involve a company you own. You will then appoint a trustee to manage your trust and ensure that your beneficiaries receive their share of benefits.
A family trust relieves you of the stress about your family’s financial security during and beyond your lifetime. It also gives you and your beneficiaries tax benefits, especially if it involves your business.
Cube Law helps you create your family trust in BC. Our lawyers will guide you through the procedure and draft the document(s) you need along the way. Cube Law safeguards your interests and will help you with dispute resolution if issues arise in the future.
You can also seek our help in choosing the type of trust that best suits your circumstances. You can create a testamentary, alter ego, spousal, joint partner, or a disabilities trust in British Columbia.
The process starts when you hire a trusted estate planning lawyer in Surrey, BC. During the consultation, your lawyer will understand why you wish to create a family trust in BC and what your plans are with it.
Your family trust lawyer will analyze your financial circumstances and your objectives to help you choose the best trust type. They will also recommend the ideal structure for your case.
This is the most important step in the process of preparing a family trust in BC. Here, your estate planning lawyer will help you prepare a detailed trust deed.
Your trust deed should outline various details, such as:
You can call this the rulebook for your trust. Our lawyers ensure that your trust deed meets the Trust and Estate Laws of BC.
You need at least a small initial gift to “settle” your family trust in BC. Settling your trust will make it officially valid.
Here are a few important points to consider while settling your family trust:
At this stage, you transfer your assets to your family trust in BC. This activity is called “funding” your trust.
Your assets can include real estate, company shares, securities, investment accounts, cash, and other valuables.
Your family trust lawyer in BC ensures that the transfer is made legally, making your trust the official owner of your assets. If your assets include real estate, your lawyer will also help you file the necessary documents at the BC Land Title Office.
It usually costs anywhere between $500 and $2,000 to set up a family trust in BC. Ultimately, it depends on factors like the type of trust, lawyer meetings, complexities, time, and more.
Setting up a trust in BC can take as little as two weeks and as long as six months. It depends on the decision you make, the trust you choose, and the lawyer you hire in British Columbia.
Look for a suitable lawyer in Canada who would help you set up a family trust. It is better to find the best lawyer in your province. Give your lawyer all the details, including the parties’ names, the assets you wish to transfer to the trust, the beneficiaries, their shares, and more. The legal professional will then prepare a trust and make you review it.
When you transfer your assets into a trust, you lose ownership. The trust becomes the owner of your assets. So, when you pass away, these assets are no longer a part of your estate. This way, you can reduce the value of your estate (below $25,000) and avoid probate.
The different types of trusts in BC include:
At Cube Law Corporation, we understand that when establishing a family trust, a discretionary trust is usually the norm, granting the trustee complete discretion over the distribution of trust property, including the timing, form, amount, and recipients of the distribution. In contrast, in a non-discretionary trust, the trustee(s) are required to distribute trust property according to the specific terms outlined in the trust agreement.
What are the various types of trusts?
Various types of trusts are utilized for estate planning, such as Testamentary trusts, Spousal Trusts, Alter Ego Trusts, Joint Partner Trusts, and Disabilities Trusts. Since tax laws are continually evolving, seeking advice from a qualified solicitor or accountant is critical to comprehend the subtleties of a particular trust and guarantee it serves its intended function.
