How do we handle (or terminate) a nil rate band discretionary trust?

G6JNS

borkid wrote: »

We have the same in place and I was thinking about changing but then thought if one of us has to pay for care in our old age at least half the estate will be safe.

Trust law is just about the most complex area of law. It really is not an area for amateurs to get involved without professional advice from a trust specialist. The average family solicitor is unlikely to be suitably qualified so look for one with a STEP qualification. They should be able to save you far more than their fee.

wwl

WideMan wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I will certainly as a minimum get advice from a solicitor, and then make a decision about whether I am sufficiently confident to go the DIY route.

wwl: am I right in assuming that the instrument you submitted was accepted with no problem?

There was certainly no query raised about it. However in my case the eventual outcome would probably have been no different in the end and there were no potential tax issues either way.

I'm sure this is a situation that has arisen many times in the past - may be worth asking the Probate Office for advice.

G6JNS

wwl wrote: »

There was certainly no query raised about it. However in my case the eventual outcome would probably have been no different in the end and there were no potential tax issues either way.

I'm sure this is a situation that has arisen many times in the past - may be worth asking the Probate Office for advice.

Who do you mean by the Probate Office? If you mean the Probate Registry they simply deal with the validity of wills and grant probate. HMR&C deal with the IHT which is the reason for having such trusts.

WideMan

Like for wwl there are no IHT issues for us either way. The only concern is to make what money there is from my father's estate (well under the individual IHT threshold) to my mother. Either way (with or without the trust) the remainder of his allowance can be transferred to my mother's estate after her death, and as it stands this will more than cover her estate too.

SeniorSam

borkid wrote: »

We have the same in place and I was thinking about changing but then thought if one of us has to pay for care in our old age at least half the estate will be safe.

You are absolutely correct borkid. We have our Wills with a Discretionary Trust clause and even with the proposed increses in allowances planned for 2010, I consider the Discretionary Trust invaluable. It is controlled by the Trustees, usually the family members, who can make changes, make loans or gifts and having this Trust does not prevent the sale or transfer of property with the approval of all Trustees.

Care costs can be quite considerable if they are needed for a long period of time, but the protected amounts in the Trust are safe for the family.

Sam

dashriprock

Ditto with G6JNS... go to a law firm who specialise. We (my wife and I) went on google and typed in Money Saving Expert Wills. On its guide page titled "Cheap and free wills" MSE listed a law firm in Cambridge (not allowed to name companies or firms) but its wills department is called Expert Wills. They are open at the weekends which suited us as we're still both working (we have to keep working because we lost a fortune from our pension, but that's another story), and are offering half price wills over the phone, so we snapped up their offer. They are also doing probate for just 3% for MSE consumers, which has been a life saver for my cousin who found herself with too much to deal with as the executor to a will.

People think nothing of paying over £100 for a good night out, yet when it comes to the most important document of your life (your will) it beggars belief they want to avoid paying for peace of mind.

Mojisola

dashriprock - your posts are beginning to look like spam.