Trusts & Estates

PUT YOUR TRUST IN OUR TEAM

Our award-winning trust team deal with almost 500 trust clients with combined assets of over £1 billion. We work closely with the trustees, their legal and investment advisers, and in some cases we run the day to day administration of the trust. A key aspect of our services is that they are bespoke to our clients’ requirements.

Trusts also allow you to protect your surviving spouse or other beneficiaries from the problems, pressures and unwanted attention often associated with inheritance. So, for example, if you feel that your children wouldn’t be ready to inherit at 18, but might be better waiting till 21 or 25, you can build this into the trust requirements.

If your estate is worth more than £325,000 (£650,000 for couples) then it makes sense to explore whether you could benefit from using trusts.

We advise a broad range of clients on setting up different types of trusts, linking this in with wider tax and business succession planning if appropriate. Our team can take care of all trust administration matters.

When someone does die, we can also deal with the estate, preparing the necessary accounts and tax calculations.

WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER USING A TRUST

Trusts allow you to protect your surviving spouse or other beneficiaries from the problems, pressures and unwanted attention often associated with inheritance. Trusts are flexible; you can also use trusts to stipulate the age at which beneficiaries inherit and property, cash or investments can be placed into trust – it doesn’t have to be one or the other. The timescales for setting up a trust are also pretty flexible; they can be set up during your lifetime or in your will. Whatever works best for you and your individual needs.

TAKING AWAY THE BURDEN OF TRUST ADMINISTRATION

In addition to advising on the setting up of trusts, our experienced team can also manage and deal with the complete range of trust administration matters, including:

• Annual accounts
• Tax returns
• Inheritance tax returns
• Bookkeeping
• Year-end distribution planning
• Year-end Capital Gains Tax planning
• Trustees’ meetings
• Opening bank accounts, writing & banking cheques
• Liaising with HMRC
• Liaising with investment advisors
• Winding up the trust

TRUSTS & ESTATE PLANNING

Trusts can be an integral part of a family’s overall tax planning strategy. Although not suitable for all our clients, in the right circumstances, trusts can be a secure, flexible and potentially tax efficient way of allowing assets to be passed down through the generations. Trusts can also be beneficial for those with complex family arrangements. The process can itself be complex, and our team can assist with addressing clients personal and family needs whilst seeking to maximise potential tax planning benefits. By working with our team, we can handle all compliance requirements, potential complexities and administration, leaving you to focus on what’s important to you and your family.