Trust establishment

Templar Estate Planning can provide you with advice on formation and management of appropriate Trusts that will benefit you or your loved ones.

This short video gives an overview of Trusts and how they can be used to protect your assets for your family.

What are Trusts?

In short, a Trust is legal entity that forms a protective wrapper around your assets and can be of great value to anyone who wants to have more control and flexibility over how their assets are managed on death or during their lifetime.

Using a trust for estate planning purposes can give greater control compared to a simple Will. For example, in addition to defining who gets what, it can include additional instructions and clarifications such as, when, how and why. The Trust Deed is the legal document that defines how the Trustees must operate the trust, who can benefit from it and can be used in association with the memorandum of wishes for certain types of trusts. A trust can be used to shield assets from threats that are not afforded by standard wills.

The main types of trust in the UK:

• Bare trusts
• Interest in possession trusts
• Discretionary trusts
• Accumulation trusts
• Mixed trusts
• Settlor-interested trusts

If you wish to find out more about Trusts in terms of Will writing and estate planning, get in touch or please look here.  

This can all sound very complicated and daunting but don’t worry we are more than happy to explain this to you in person and aim to break down jargon to make everything easy to understand. After listening to your requirements, we will recommend the best type of Trust for your situation.

The HMRC’s website also has further information on types of trusts.

What are the benefits in setting up a Trust?

There are 101 reasons and benefits to setting up Trusts! However amongst ways our clients have benefitted from Trusts are:

• To protect – Trusts can be set up to protect your loved ones who may not be old enough or have the capacity to manage their inheritance.
• Minimise threats – to minimise threats on your estate from amongst other; bankruptcy, divorce, creditors, care costs and.. the “rotten egg” in your 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. We can also establish a separate trust for each beneficiary to further reduce potential conflict.
• Privacy – After your death and once the probate process has been completed, your Will becomes a public document that can be seen by anyone. Trusts can be formed before death and can add a layer of privacy in terms of beneficiaries and ultimate recipients of your assets. Therefore your wishes and your beneficiaries will be kept secret.

Process to set up Trusts

As with all our services, Templar Estate Planning will, on having listened to your requirements and wishes advise you on the appropriate Trusts

This can be carried out as part of your overall planning, for example alongside your Will, or as a standalone service if your current Will covers your needs. Initially you will need to think about:

• Who will look after your Trust (the Trustees) The majority of our clients choose to have at least two Trustees; either a spouse or partner alongside a professional Trustee whose experience can be invaluable. We can provide a professional Trustee service.
• Confirmation of the beneficiaries of your estate via the Trust.
• Specific instructions for your Trustees on how your estate should be managed and how your beneficiaries will benefit.

Templar Estate Planning will, in consultation with you, gather all your wishes and requirements, we will then give you our recommendations and explain them to you. Once you are happy and have confirmed your preference, we will form the Trust, ready for its use, or draft a Will that establishes the Trust/s on death.

Contact us today, we are happy to discuss your needs in a no obligation call.

“Really happy to have chosen Templar for our long over due Will planning. David right from the start helped guide my wife and I through the various options clearly and concisely (and translating a lot of jargon that we had no clue about!) super happy with the service provided would highly recommend.“

Mr R – Reading

Our other services:

Will writing – don’t have, or not sure if your current Will will cover your needs? Have a look at our Will writing service here.

Lasting Power of Attorney – A Lasting Power of Attorney can protect you and your loved ones should you become incapacitated. Find our more here.