Family Protection Trusts

A family protection trust allows you to have full access to the assets in the trust while you are alive, however you choose who will inherit from it upon your death, and the assets are protected against a range of threats:

Probate

Probate is the legal process through which an Estate must pass in order for the wishes in the Will to be met. It’s the job of the executors. It can be expensive (Which? Says around 3% of the value of the estate when choosing a solicitor or a bank to help) and can be time consuming, around 6-12 months to administer. It’s also a huge burden at a very difficult time. Where do the executors live? What is their work/family situation like? Are they able to donate the time to complete the work? When clients place assets in trust the inheritance will pass to the beneficiaries without the need for probate, reducing probate fees and time. They inherit overnight. A great reason on its own for setting up the trust.

Children inheriting at the right time

Inheriting with just a Will in place can put the inheritance at risk. For instance, are any of the beneficiaries going through a divorce which could mean half the inheritance goes to an ex-partner, or a bankruptcy meaning the inheritance could go to creditors? Or is the inheritance going to cause or worsen an inheritance tax position for the beneficiaries meaning it could be taxed at 40% in the future? Well, by leaving the assets in trust the beneficiaries can decide when to take the inheritance. They could resolve any personal difficulties and then take the inheritance thus retaining 100% of it. Or simply leave it in trust and draw on it (leaving it to their own children in trust perhaps). Protection for the bloodline.

Disinheriting Children

Many families find themselves in a position where they wish to disinherit a child. Unfortunately, by law a child can contest their parents Will and there have been some high profile successes. Even if unsuccessful the costs involved in defending a challenge can be huge. A trust can make it very difficult for a child to contest, an in fact after 6 years those assets would be safe.

Care

If you have assets above £23,250 in England, £18,000 in Scotland and £50,000 in Wales, you will be paying 100% of your care fees. Many families will have to sell their homes to fund care. You cannot give away or dispose of assets with the purpose of avoiding means testing. This is known as deliberate deprivation of assets and the Local Authority can contest this. Giving assets to children or placing assets in trust will not work to avoid paying for care.

However, whilst the avoidance of care fees cannot be the reason for setting up a Family Protection Trust, many of our clients have found that because they set up an trust at a time when care was not foreseeable, and also to make use of the benefits described above, the assets they held in trust were disregarded during care fees means assessments.

We have partnerships with a number of SRA regulated solicitors, expert Trust Corporations and Licensed Conveyancers to help our clients set up the most appropriate trust solution.

Please contact us to have an informal chat with a local Paralegal.