A simple trust refers to how a trustee distributes the trust income to the beneficiaries. Simple trusts are both revocable, or living, or irrevocable, since the language of the trust effects management of the trust by the trustee. Called simple because a simple trust only deals with a person’s current income and how distributes it after death. It does not deal with any charitable giving or assets that continue to earn income.

The duty of the trustee in a simple trust, also known as a bare trust, is to distribute all current wealth contained in the estate of the diseased. Any other type of trust that provides for charitable gifts, a stream of income or deals with other types of wealth distribution is a complex trust. According to the IRS, a trust can qualify as a simple trust in a tax year in which it distributes its income makes no other distributions. This is true even if there aren’t any distributions of the current income. Use simple trust information to:

1. Understand how taxes affect the estate of the deceased person.

2. Carry out the details of the simple trust by the trustee.

3. Provide for your loved ones when charitable giving isn’t an issue of your trust.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find simple trust advice from specialists in simple trusts for tax purposes

The differences between simple and a complex trusts are tool of complex estate tax planning. Your trust, whether revocable or irrevocable, is simple depending on the proportioning of your current wealth. Get advice from simple trust specialists to determine what kind of trust planning you need.

I recommend: Use NOLO by keying in your state and then "Trusts and Estates" in the legal issues field to find trust experts near you. Try Lawyers.com by clicking on "Trusts and Estates" for areas of practice and then select the state where you live.

Create simple trust documents with online tools and resources

Because a simple trust can be part of an irrevocable living trust or revocable, depending on what type of trust you have, they are relatively easy to produce with the right online tools and forms. Determining whether your trust should be simple or complex requires an expert. However, do it yourself trusts are a great resource when time is an issue and a trip to the attorneys office isn't possible.

I recommend: Create a simple trust as part of your irrevocable living trust or revocable living trust with documents from Trustforms.com. Legalzoom.com also provides fee-based trust documents you can use to create a simple trust.

Work with a simple trust expert to determine is a simple trust is right for you

During life's most difficult moments, getting the right answers before you need them is priceless. Simple trust management can be anything but simple without the right expert services on your side. Choosing a qualified trust and estate attorney takes the worry out of making the right choices for your particular situation.

I recommend: Mayer Brown is a global organization specializing in wealth preservation and estate planning. Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. have locations throughout the world and are leaders in trust work.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Trusts, whether a simple trust or complex trust, require a higher level of capacity than that of 'sound mind' applicable to wills. The required capacity is similar to contractual capacity such as that needed to sign a deed.
• •  Notarize any type of trust in case it needs recording with the Register of Deeds.