Minor Trust Attorney in Virginia

Protecting Your Children’s Inheritance Through Thoughtful Estate Planning

A minor trust, sometimes called a children’s trust, is a legal arrangement that holds and manages assets on behalf of a child until they reach an age you specify. Without one, Virginia law doesn’t let a minor manage an inherited sum on their own, and the consequences of that gap can be significant for your family. At J. S. Burton, P.L.C., we draft minor trusts as part of a coordinated estate plan that accounts for guardianship, trustee succession, and long-term family dynamics.

We have over 20 years of experience in estate planning and trust administration, serving families throughout Virginia from offices in Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and McLean. We offer free initial consultations for estate and trust planning matters.

If you have minor children or grandchildren as beneficiaries, the right time to address this is now. Call our Virginia minor trust attorneys at (888) 885-9001 to schedule a free consultation.

What Virginia Law Does When There’s No Trust for a Minor

When a Virginia adult dies leaving assets to a minor beneficiary without a trust in place, those funds don’t simply transfer to the child. A court appoints a guardian of property to manage the inheritance on the child’s behalf. That guardian operates under ongoing court supervision and must file annual accountings, with the associated fees drawn from the child’s inherited funds.

The process is burdensome and often costly. Access to the funds for the child’s education, maintenance, or support can be restricted throughout this period. Then, when the child turns 18, the remaining balance typically passes to them outright regardless of their financial maturity. A properly drafted minor trust can eliminate this court process by establishing a management structure and naming a trustee in advance, so distributions can be made for the child’s benefit without court intervention.

What a Minor Trust Lets Parents Control

One of the most important things a minor trust does is give you choices. Virginia law provides limited flexibility through custodial accounts under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, which allows custodianship to extend to age 25 for transfers made on or after July 1, 2019. A properly drafted trust goes further, giving you control over distribution timing, permitted uses of funds, and trustee selection in ways a custodial account can’t match.

Key decisions you make when drafting a minor trust:

• Distribution age: You can set staggered distributions, such as a portion at 25 and the remainder at 30, so assets reach your child when they’re financially prepared rather than all at once at 18.
• Permitted uses during minority: The trust can direct the trustee to use funds for health, education, maintenance, and support, commonly called the HEMS standard, giving the trustee clear guidance without requiring court approval for each decision.
• Trustee and successor trustee: You choose who manages the trust and name a successor in case your first choice is unavailable. The trustee and your child’s legal guardian can be the same person or kept separate to provide an additional layer of oversight.
• Trust structure: A minor trust can be built as a testamentary trust inside your will, activated at death, or as a sub-trust within a revocable living trust, which also avoids probate and can take effect outside of a court proceeding.

Assets held inside a properly structured minor trust are generally protected from being accessed prematurely or mismanaged before the child is ready to receive them.

Why Virginia Families Choose J. S. Burton, P.L.C. for Minor Trust Planning

Minor trust planning doesn’t exist in isolation. It connects directly to guardianship nominations, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, and the overall structure of your estate plan. When those documents are drafted separately or without coordination, gaps and conflicts can appear, sometimes at the worst possible time.

We handle both trust drafting and trust administration, so we can support your family through the full lifecycle of a minor trust, not only at its creation. Our practice spans estate planning, probate, trust administration, elder law, and asset protection, all of which can intersect when minor beneficiaries are involved. We take a multigenerational approach to legal planning, and our goal isn’t to hand you a document and close the file. It’s to build a plan that reflects your family’s real dynamics and grows with you over time. We serve clients throughout Virginia and Washington, D.C. from offices in Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and McLean, providing personalized counsel tailored to each family’s needs.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Minor Trust Lawyer in Virginia

If your estate plan doesn’t yet address what happens when a minor inherits your assets, a conversation with our team is the right first step. We can review your situation, explain your options, and help you understand how a minor trust fits into a broader plan for your family’s future.

There’s no obligation and no cost for the initial consultation. Contact J. S. Burton, P.L.C. at (888) 885-9001 to get started.