Trust Solicitors

Trusts can be a tax-efficient way of managing your estate and key assets. A trust can help to reduce your estate’s liability for inheritance tax, so your loved ones receive more of the benefits of your hard work after you are gone.

Trusts can also provide reassurance that your assets will be taken of properly and that your loved ones’ needs will continue to be met when you are no longer around. A trust can also be used to make sure your own needs are met in the future if there is a change in your circumstances.

Trusts can be set up for a variety of reasons, including:

• Setting aside assets for someone who isn’t yet old enough to take ownership of them
• Making long-term provision for dependents, especially those without the capacity to live independently or manage their own affairs
• Protecting the assets of someone who doesn’t have the mental capacity to handle them
• Setting money aside to fund your own long-term care
• Removing assets from your estate, so that those assets cannot be touched in certain circumstances (e.g. bankruptcy)

Your Wills, trusts and probate solicitor will be able to advise you on the type of trust that best suits your needs. They will take you through the options, discuss with you the various pros and cons, and help you decide on the nature and format of your trust.

You might choose to set up a trust via a trust deed, or you might make provision for a trust in your Will. Whichever vehicle you choose, the wording of the trust will be crucial to enabling it to do what you need it to do. Our Wills, trusts and probate solicitors are skilled at drafting trusts that are legally compliant, will stand the test of time and will lead to the outcome that you are looking to achieve.

There really is no substitute for engaging a specialist lawyer who prepares these documents day in, day out, to help you with this.

Given the range of options that exists, the cost of setting up a trust will depend on many factors – including the complexity of the issues on which advice is needed, and the drafting that will be required.

Our trusts and estate planning solicitors’ approach to fees is simple: we are transparent in the way in which we charge, and upfront when it comes to the likely cost of dealing with your matter.

When you come to see us, we will tell you how much we would charge to set up the trust on your behalf. We’ll also tell you about any ancillary liabilities that would or could arise, including tax that may be payable on the assets held on trust. That way, you will be completely clear about all of the costs involved before deciding how to proceed.

A trustee must be:

• Over the age of 18
• Of sound mind (i.e. they must not be mentally incapacitated)
• Not bankrupt or otherwise disqualified from being a trustee

You should usually appoint more than one trustee so that the trust isn’t left in a situation in which there is no one to manage it if the trustee were to die or for another reason become unable to carry out their duties. Having at least two trustees is also a way of ensuring that balanced decisions are made; each trustee will have another person’s input.

As to the type of person that should be appointed a trustee, it’s best to find someone who will take the role seriously and will apply themselves diligently to acting in the beneficiary’s best interests. Your trustees do not need be legally qualified (solicitors like us are on hand to advise trustees when needed), but it is a good idea to appoint a person who will understand their duties and who is prepared to take on what are significant responsibilities.

Yes, although a beneficiary should not be the only trustee. It is generally advisable to have at least two trustees, and that becomes essential where one of those trustees stands to benefit from the trust.

This will avoid a situation in which a trustee is making trust-related decisions for their sole benefit without the degree of independence, or a separation of ownership of the assets, that a second trustee would bring.

A common concern for many older people is that they will need to sell their home to cover the cost of care in later life. Placing your home into a trust may seem like a good option to allow you to avoid liability for care fees and ensure your home can pass to your children or other loved ones when you pass away.

However, you must be very careful as these arrangements may be challenged if it is believed that you have deliberately removed assets from your estate purely for the purposes of avoiding care fees. It is therefore essential to take expert legal advice when looking at ways to protect your estate to ensure you are able to effectively achieve your goals.

This type of trust allows the trustees some degree of flexibility over how income from the trust is used and, in some cases, how to handle the assets included in the trust. The exact terms of a discretionary trust and what powers the trustees have will be set out in the trust deed according to the instructions of the person setting up the trust.

Depending on the terms of the trust deed, trustees of a discretionary trust may be able to decide:

• How much of the trust income and/or capital to pay out to the beneficiaries
• Which beneficiaries to make payments to
• When to make payments to the beneficiaries
• What, if any, conditions to impose on the beneficiaries e.g. what they can use the trust income for

This will depend on the circumstances, but in general most types of trusts can run for a maximum of 125 years. However, it is more normal for a trust to be set up to last as long as it is needed e.g. until the beneficiary turns 18 and can manage the assets themselves, or until the beneficiary dies (for example, if the trust was set up to pay for a vulnerable person’s care).

You will need to create a trust deed (it is strongly recommended to have a solicitor do this for you) and choose trustees to manage the assets in the trust. The trustees can be friends, family or professionals and it is usually advisable to have at least two trustees.

You may need to pay tax when transferring a property into a trust, so it is essential to take professional advice about this to make sure placing your house into a trust is the most tax-efficient option available to you.

Yes, but if you stay in the property you will need to pay the new owner a reasonable rate of rent, otherwise the property may be considered a ‘gift with reservation’. Gifts with reservation are still counted as part of your estate on your death and therefore liable for Inheritance Tax.