Trust funds

dunstonh

petunia100 wrote: »

Totally confused by it all really. Could we not just opn accounts in the childrens names and run them ourselves?

No. That would not be under ownership of the trustees. You may well get away with it but it is not the correct way to do it.

It can be confusing. About 18 months ago I had to get a solicitor to tear up the cheque they issued and reissue the cheque correctly as they didnt know what a Will Trust was. I later found out that it was not a solicitor at the firm doing the work but a combination of a non-qualified individual and secretary.

If the children are under 18, or under some other age mentioned in the will (21 and 25 are common), a trust must come into existence until the contingency age is reached.

Also, if the children are under 10 then using savings accounts is probably not in the best interests of the child. A trustee has to act in the best interests of the beneficiary.

petunia100

dunstonh wrote: »

No. That would not be under ownership of the trustees. You may well get away with it but it is not the correct way to do it.

It can be confusing. About 18 months ago I had to get a solicitor to tear up the cheque they issued and reissue the cheque correctly as they didnt know what a Will Trust was. I later found out that it was not a solicitor at the firm doing the work but a combination of a non-qualified individual and secretary.

If the children are under 18, or under some other age mentioned in the will (21 and 25 are common), a trust must come into existence until the contingency age is reached.

Also, if the children are under 10 then using savings accounts is probably not in the best interests of the child. A trustee has to act in the best interests of the beneficiary.

The solicitor who was executor of the will doesn't seem to know what he's doing either and we have been unable to get any more advice from him.

bobthedambuilder

petunia100 wrote: »

The solicitor who was executor of the will doesn't seem to know what he's doing either and we have been unable to get any more advice from him.

Let me first of all say that I'm a layman in both legal and financial matters so the following comment should be viewed in that light.

If I were you, I would be writing to the solicitor (especially if your exchanges to date have been verbal) by recorded delivery, summarising the situation to date and saying something like "I have made enquiries in to the matter, and it appears to me that the bequests made to [children] should not have been released to us but held as part of the estate until the necessary trusts specified in the will had been set up. Could you please explain your actions in this matter, and if our understanding of the requirements is correct, what you intend to do to rectify the situation."

If he doesn't reply satisfactorily, or continues to ignore you, maybe it's time to consider putting the matter to the Legal Ombudsman. I notice from their website that often the threat of investigation by them seems to provoke the necessary action.

Best of luck!

petunia100

bobthedambuilder wrote: »

Let me first of all say that I'm a layman in both legal and financial matters so the following comment should be viewed in that light.

If I were you, I would be writing to the solicitor (especially if your exchanges to date have been verbal) by recorded delivery, summarising the situation to date and saying something like "I have made enquiries in to the matter, and it appears to me that the bequests made to [children] should not have been released to us but held as part of the estate until the necessary trusts specified in the will had been set up. Could you please explain your actions in this matter, and if our understanding of the requirements is correct, what you intend to do to rectify the situation."

If he doesn't reply satisfactorily, or continues to ignore you, maybe it's time to consider putting the matter to the Legal Ombudsman. I notice from their website that often the threat of investigation by them seems to provoke the necessary action.

Best of luck!

I think I'll have to do that as the solicitor seems to have created problems for us.

barak

Solicitors do specialise - some seem to do nothing much else but conveyancing, others specialise in crime or family law - and although most of them may offer to prepare a will or trust, not all of them are expert in that area. I wonder whether 'your' solicitor is a member of STEP [Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners].

You could check on the STEP site, which might be useful if you had to obtain any further legal or financial advice.

http://www.step.org/system_pages/call_to_action_navigation/find_a_practitioner.aspx

The Law Society website is also useful for finding a solicitor specialising in a particular area of the law.

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/findasolicitor.law

SurreySue

Hello

The website www.hmrc.gov.uk may help with your understanding of what a trustees responsibilities are. (just type it in the search box).

Having had a legacy left for my children from their grandfather to be held on trust until they are 21, we found the only way to do this was via a life insurance policy written in trust through an insurance company. (we took independent financial advice at the time). That way when they each turn 21 we can cash in the appropriate share for that child.

Hope that helps.

dunstonh

Having had a legacy left for my children from their grandfather to be held on trust until they are 21, we found the only way to do this was via a life insurance policy written in trust through an insurance company. (we took independent financial advice at the time). That way when they each turn 21 we can cash in the appropriate share for that child.

Historically that was the most common way but in more recent times unit trusts/OEICs have been able to be held under trust. Some of the platforms now offer trusts and the most common of the lot is the "Will Trust" which is what would have been suitable here. The Will Trust is easy as it only needs a copy of the Will (to prove the Trust was stated in the Will) and the funds paid by the executor of the estate to the product provider. Its a nil cost option as it uses normal retail investment funds that you find on most of the platforms and you only pay those retail charges (i.e. no cost added for the trust).

Life funds still have a greater range of alternative trusts though.