Trusts and Trust Planning
Are You Maximising the Benefits of Will Trusts and Lifetime Trusts?
Understanding the advantages of Will Trusts and Lifetime Trusts can transform your estate planning. Trusts can offer a flexible and effective way to manage and protect your assets, ensuring your loved ones are provided for according to your wishes. By incorporating these trusts into your estate plan, you can gain peace of mind knowing that your assets are safeguarded and your family’s future is secure. Explore how strategic planning today can secure a better tomorrow for your heirs.
Will Trust Planning
We can advise you on the right Will Trust to use including:
- Asset Protection: To help protect your assets being used by a new partner should your spouse remarry after your death, or from being taken in a scam or fraud.
- Protecting Inheritance for Children from Previous Relationships: To ensure that children from a previous relationship ultimately inherit whilst catering for the needs of your spouse. This is particularly helpful for second marriages.
- Flexibility: To provide flexibility for unforeseen events and changes in your circumstances. This ensure your estate can be managed in the best possible way for your family, regardless of what the future holds.
- Provision for Vulnerable Beneficiaries: To provide for beneficiaries who need additional support, such as minors or individuals with disabilities, ensuring their needs are met in a structured manner without affecting their means-tested benefits and support.
Lifetime Trust Planning
We can advise you on the right Trust to use including:
- Gifting Assets for Inheritance Tax Planning: To reduce your estate’s inheritance tax liability, ensuring more of your wealth is passed on to your beneficiaries rather than being lost to taxes.
- Better Protecting Assets for Future Generations: To better safeguard your assets for the benefit of future generations. Protecting your wealth from potential risks so that your descendants receive their inheritance intact.
- Allocating Income and Gains for Tax Planning Purposes: Allowing you to manage the tax implications of your investments and distributions, optimising the financial benefits for you and your family.
- Declaring Property Ownership: Particularly useful when a property is owned by multiple people in different shares. The declaration states the ownership proportions, ensuring there is no ambiguity. It is a legally binding document that provides clarity and security for all parties.
We will explore the tax and administration implications of what you wish to do. We will draft any trust documents necessary to implement your planning.
Why Make a Trust
Download our handy guide “Why Make a Trust”. Produced by STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).
Trustee Advisory Services
At Nicola Sunderland TEP, we provide comprehensive advisory services to Trustees of existing trusts, ensuring that all responsibilities and decisions are documented and implemented in accordance with legal requirements.
Our Services:
Often Trusts are established by a Will and they need to be constituted by the trustees. For more established trusts, the trustees may need guidance on a decision they need to make, the tax implications of making a distribution to a beneficiary or their options on how to end the trust. At Nicola Sunderland TEP we can help.
Understanding the Trust:
Helping you comprehend the trust, your responsibilities, and available options. We provide clear explanations and guidance to ensure you fully understand the trust’s terms and your role as a Trustee.
Transferring Trust Property:
Assisting with the transfer of property to the Trustees. We handle the legal and administrative aspects to ensure a smooth and compliant transfer process.
Trust Registration:
Helping with the registration of the Trust on the Trust Registration Service (TRS). We ensure that your trust is properly registered and compliant with all regulatory requirements.
Retiring and Appointing Trustees:
Managing the process of retiring and appointing Trustees. We provide support and advice to ensure that these transitions are handled smoothly and in accordance with the trust deed and legal requirements.
Drafting Deeds:
Advising on and drafting deeds to implement Trustee decisions. We ensure that all legal documents are accurately prepared and reflect the Trustees’ intentions.
Recording Decisions:
Ensuring all decisions made by the Trustees are properly recorded. We help maintain thorough and accurate records to support transparency and accountability.
Additionally, we provide ongoing support to help Trustees navigate complex situations and ensure compliance with all legal obligations. Our team is here to assist you with any challenges you may face, offering expert advice and practical solutions.
If you are a Trustee seeking professional advice, contact us today to learn more about how we can assist you. Let us help you understand the trust, your responsibilities, and how to correctly implement your decisions.
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
STEP is the worldwide professional association for those advising families across generations. STEP provides its members professional development and technical information. And maintains high professional standards. All members are subject to an extensive Code of Professional Conduct, requiring them to act with integrity in a manner that inspires the confidence, respect and trust of their clients and of the wider community.
Trusts Explained
Download our helpful “Trusts Explained” handy guide. Produced by STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).
Protecting you and your family’s financial future!
Providing an exceptional, personalised service, we bring a wealth of expertise and experience and are committed to providing the highest standards of professionalism.
With Nicola Sunderland TEP you are in safe hands.