Trusts
We offer specialist advice on family financial protection through the use of Trusts. A Protective Property Trust (PPT) is designed to protect half, if not all, of your property from the assessment and over-contribution toward long-term care fees. In this way, they can also protect inheritance for further generations.
For more information on how a Trust can protect your assets, please get in touch with our experts today.
Protective
Property Trusts
Do you want to ensure that your home and wealth will go to your children or other loved ones? Have you considered what the effect might be on your savings, and potentially your home, if you need residential care in later life? To prevent your assets from being used to fund Care Home fees, you should consider making legal arrangements in advance. Setting up a PPT can help to secure your estate.
Many homeowners hold their property as joint tenants. However, without a PPT in place, 100% of the property could be considered towards funding future care costs. Having a PPT can ensure that the partner who does not require care can continue living in the house. It can also prevent the person in need of care from having their share of the property used to pay for care. Furthermore, Trusts can guarantee that the property is left to the designated beneficiaries in the Will once both partners have died. The Trust will typically end once the surviving partner passes away.
How it
Works
Upon the first party’s death, the value of the property share of the deceased is ringfenced by the Trust. The Will can bequeath the entire share of the first party to die to the Trust. Therefore, the surviving spouse will keep their share of the house, and the deceased’s share will be held in the Trust. Moreover, Trusts can hold additional assets and funds, which will provide you with extra protection.
Third party claims against the next generation of Beneficiaries are also factored into the Trust. Your children can have protection from claims against their inheritance (after it has been given to them) through certain Trust clauses. Please speak to our expert team today for more information.
Why Set Up
A Trust
Trusts have many advantages. They enable you to:
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- Financially support a loved one who lacks or has lost the ability to manage their affairs.
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- Ensure that your money will be used to pay for your needs if you require additional help.
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- Take assets out of your estate. This can reduce how much tax your Beneficiaries will have to pay when you pass away. In turn, this ensures that your savings can go towards looking after loved ones.
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- Pass on your estate to your heirs without the time, cost and publicity of going through Probate.
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- Help protect your assets from legal action by creditors or other litigants.
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- Appoint successor Trustees who can manage the Trust after you have passed on. This can allow your family to grow and manage wealth for future generations.
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- Trusts can allow you to reduce tax liability, or mitigate the impact of Care Home fees in old age.
FAQs
Having a solicitor as a Trustee can be highly beneficial. Not only will they be able to provide other Trustees with legal expertise, they can ensure it is correctly managed. They can also offer a neutral perspective, avoiding conflicts of interests amidst any disputes.
The settlor determines how the assets in a Trust should be used. This is usually set out in a document called the ‘Trust Deed’. Sometimes the settlor can also benefit from the assets in a Trust. This is called a ‘settlor-interested’ Trust and has special tax rules.
There can be more than one Beneficiary, such as a whole family. They may benefit from:
- The income of a Trust only, for example from renting out a house held in a Trust.
- The capital only, for example getting shares held in a Trust when they reach a certain age.
- Both the income and capital of the Trust.
Contact Us For Trusts & Estate Planning Advice
Please get in touch with De Rossi Griffiths today for expert legal advice.