Trusts

What is the Purpose of a Trust and When Are They Used?

A trust is a legal entity where trustees are legally responsible for managing assets on behalf and for the benefit of someone else.    

Trusts are used in a variety of circumstances including providing for someone who is vulnerable and not able to manage their own assets, when leaving assets to someone under the specified age for inheritance and for Inheritance Tax planning. 

What Common Types of Trust are There?

There are different types of trusts which can be set up to manage assets depending on your particular circumstances.  Examples include:

Life Interest Irusts

A life interest trust is generally created to allow a surviving partner to remain in a property or receive income only on financial assets during their lifetime but to protect the asset for future generations.  It would usually be created in such a way that if the surviving partner were to remarry or to die themselves, the property would pass to the beneficiaries of the trust, most often children.  It can also be used to pass property on to children from a previous marriage whilst allowing a partner to remain there whilst still alive and to prevent assets from being diverted by the survivor following the first death.

Discretionary Trusts

This is the most common type of trust as it allows the most freedom to trustees as to how it is managed, when payments are made and to whom.  By using this type of trust, it is also then possible for trustees to take into account a change of circumstances which trustees of other types of trusts may not be able to do.

These trusts are most commonly used when clients want to provide the utmost flexibility as they will allow the trustees to take account of the client's personal circumstances, or other factors, when deciding upon what to do. 

Spousal Bypass Trust

This type of trust is usually set up by one party with a lump sum to benefit their spouse and is generally designed so that the spouse benefits from their pension scheme without it becoming liable for inheritance tax.  There were some charges under the 2015 Pension Reforms which put additional restrictions on how pension income can be taken. If you are considering this type of trust, a member of the team can advise on its relevancy for you and support you to put the trust in place.

Old Family Trusts

Family trusts are generally set up to benefit your family members and allow you to transfer assets into trust over time to reduce the value of your estate for inheritance tax purposes. In order for any assets gifted into a trust to be treated as falling outside the estate for inheritance tax purposes, the settlor must survive seven years from the date of the gift. It is therefore important to think about when to create this type of trust to ensure maximum benefit for your beneficiaries.  It is possible for more than one trust to be created and a member of the Private Wealth team can advise you on the rules surrounding this and your particular circumstances.

Protective Trusts

Protective trusts are created to protect the interests of a beneficiary with trustees managing the assets on their behalf.  They are similar to life interest and discretionary trusts but can be used to manage assets of someone who is not able to manage them themselves such as someone who is lacking capacity, is a minor or who is not able to manage finances for some other reason.

You can find more information about Protective Trusts here.