Trust in Trusts

Round & About

You might think that Trusts are used solely by the very rich and by those people with complex estates to manage. Think again, Trusts are used by people like you and me every day to better protect their families and their inheritances

Trusts in some form have been around since the 12th Century and have been recorded as used by Knights to ensure their lands were looked after when they went off to battle – hence our business name!

In more recent times though, home ownership really triggered the use of trusts for normal people who, for the first time, had a very valuable asset they wanted to protect and hand down through their families.  This is still very true now, with home values at an all-time high, a Trust is a good strategy to pass these assets on to future generations. 

There are many reasons to set up Trusts:

• To protect – Trusts can protect your loved ones who may not be old enough or have the capacity to manage their inheritance.

• Minimise threats – Trusts can minimise a number of threats against your estate including your beneficiaries; going bankrupt, divorcing, partners marrying someone else, care costs and maybe even from the more unscrupulous members of an extended family.

• Tax mitigation – Trusts can be used legally to mitigate Inheritance Tax and / or Income Tax implications for your beneficiaries on your death.

• To stop conflict – Your trust can minimise potential conflict between your family after you have gone. Trusts can be very specific and binding on how you want your estate to be divided up. Indeed, each beneficiary can have their own separate Trust to further help reduce potential conflict

• Privacy – For most of us, a Will at some stage will become a public document, a Trust can add a layer allowing your wishes and your beneficiaries to remain confidential.

At Templar Estate Planning we can full advise on Trusts to protect your assets and family and to minimise tax.

Trusts via Wills

Standard Wills that most people have, including free Wills or ones drafted from templates, afford very little protection as assets are gifted directly to beneficiaries, which means they then sit within their estates and assets.

Such Wills are usually only recommended or suitable if your assets will not be threatened by, or you are not concerned by: inheritance tax or generational inheritance tax; long term care fees; marriage after death; divorce of beneficiaries; and/or creditors and bankruptcy.

Gifting directly to beneficiaries that are on means tested benefits or to disabled children is not recommended as it can adversely affect their benefits or they might not be able to manage their own affairs.

Contact us for a free estate planning consultation to discuss how Wills with trusts could better protect your family and their assets. Depending on your exact circumstances, such planning could legitimately save and retain hundreds of thousands of pounds for your family that might otherwise be lost to HMRC or other parties.