As we go through life, many of us will accrue a certain amount of financial assets: property, savings, vehicles and perhaps even shares in a business. These assets become part of our estate, and when we die, they are distributed to our chosen beneficiaries in accordance with the Will we have left behind.
Part of your estate planning may involve you setting up a Trust to provide for your beneficiaries in the future. A Trust can offer a number of benefits, including allowing you to make sure children or vulnerable loved ones would be looked after if you were no longer around, as well as making your estate more tax efficient.
Here at Pickering & Butters, our dedicated trust solicitors have vast experience of helping clients through the process of estate planning. Whether you are setting up a trust of your own or you are a trustee and need advice or assistance, our team of specialist trust solicitors are here to help.
We can assist with all areas of trust law including:
- Setting up a trust
- Managing a trust
- Taking over an existing trust
- Advice for trustees on specific matters
- Advice for beneficiaries of trusts
- Resolving trust disputes
Whatever your requirements, our highly experience trust solicitors have a raft of specialist know-how at your disposal.
Get expert help with setting up or managing a trust
For tailored advice on setting up or managing a trust, or any other trust-related issues, please contact our solicitors in Stafford and Rugeley.
Why choose Pickering & Butters trust solicitors?
Tailored trust law advice to match your specific requirements
Our priority is to protect your interests, and we do so by gaining an in-depth understanding of your individual requirements before getting started. That way, you can rest assured that the advice we deliver is completely tailored to your needs and objectives, no matter how complex your situation.
Smart planning to give you complete control over your financial affairs
By instructing one of our trust solicitors to help you with estate planning, we will help ensure the smooth transfer of your assets, allowing you to have as much control over your financial affairs as possible.
Specialist expertise in trust law
Each member of our team is a specialist within the field of estate planning, equipped with the experience and expertise necessary to help you set up a trust with minimal fuss. The regulations surrounding trusts are very complex and they have their own tax rules.
No detail overlooked, ensuring full legal compliance
As a trustee, you can rely on our dedicated team of trust solicitors for assistance in ensuring everything is being run in accordance with legal requirements.
Trusts and trust law explained
Key terms for understanding trusts
Trust – A legal vehicle for holding and managing assets.
Settlor – The person who places assets into a trust.
Trustee – The person who manages the trust (there is normally more than one trustee)
Trust beneficiary – The person who benefits from the trust (there may be more than one beneficiary of a trust).
What is a trust?
A trust is a legal arrangement, which allows a third party chosen by you (known as the “trustees”) to hold your assets on behalf of a beneficiary. Once established, these trustees will be responsible for administering the assets under the trust in the best interests of the beneficiary.
Find about more about different types of trusts.
Why should I set up a trust?
The primary reason for creating a trust is to protect your loved ones, ensuring that they will be provided for in the future. This is something you may want to consider if your chosen beneficiary is below the age of 18 and is therefore too young to inherit. By making a gift into a trust, this sum of money will remain in the trust until they turn 18, at which stage it will be released into their account.
You may also consider setting up a trust if the beneficiary in question struggles to manage their finances well, establishing a system by which the funds are released gradually from the trust as opposed to all at once. A trust is also a good idea if your beneficiary suffers from any form of disability, as it ensures that the money you have passed on will never be seized by the local authority should they be required to fund the cost of care in the future.
However, another reason and benefit of setting up a trust is to ensure that your chosen beneficiaries receive the full gift you intend to give to them. By setting up a trust, you can take certain assets out of your estate, meaning that they are not subject to Inheritance Tax.
What is the benefit of placing assets in a trust?
Assets held in trusts also avoid the need for a Grant of Probate, since the assets in the trust are no longer part of your estate. This means that your chosen beneficiaries may gain access to these assets a lot faster than they would if they had remained part of the estate, as the process of estate administration can be complicated and lengthy.
Are assets held in trust exempt from Inheritance Tax?
The rules around trusts and Inheritance Tax are complicated and will depend on the type of trust. For example, assets held in a bare trust will be exempt from Inheritance Tax as long as they are placed into the trust at least 7 years before the death of the settlor.
If you are considering using a trust to make your estate more Inheritance Tax efficient, then it is essential to speak to a specialist trust solicitor first to ensure you make the right choices to achieve this goal.
Our trust law fees
We are completely transparent with our pricing as we know how important this is to our clients.
For some areas of trust law work, we are able to offer fixed fees. This means you will know exactly how much our services will cost in advance.
For more complex matters, we may charge an hourly rate, which will depend on the level of expertise required to effectively meet your needs.
Our trust solicitors will be happy to discuss the likely costs involved in servicing your requirements over the phone or by email.
You can also take a look at our pricing for more general information about our legal fees.
Get in touch with our trusts solicitors
For tailored legal advice on estate planning, please get in touch with our solicitors in Stafford and Rugeley.
