Requirement for Validity of Agreement

• For a joint trust to be valid, it must be intentionally created by both individuals. The agreement must designated ascertainable beneficiaries who will benefit from the trust and the trust must have property transferred to it. The property to be transferred to the trust must be owned, either jointly or separately, by the individuals creating the trust.
  
  

Irrevocability

• Once a co-creator of a trust dies, the trust may become irrevocable. Once the trust is irrevocable, the trust may not be dissolved or altered unless allowed by the court.
  
  

Benefits

• The creation of a joint trust may confer specific tax and estate settlement benefits based on the language of the agreement. If the trust states the spouse is to receive power over property of the trust upon the death of the co-creator, the spouse will be taxed differently if he decides to leave the property in the trust. Due to the property being in a trust, the fees associated with probating the estate will be diminished.