Wills and Trusts

mr_dimwit

Not sure if this is the right forum section but , happy to be redirected....
My wife & I are getting our Wills rewritten and we are looking at Trusts mainly to ensure our wishes are carried out and the money is used for good purposes and retained in the family (follows the bloodline)

Problem is the information and professional advice received from one person is often contradicted by another.

I get the sense professional companies only sell what they are confoirtable with and based on what the understand .

I have been offered Family investment Companies, Will Trust, Family Protection Trust (FPT), Property Trusts.

Th problem is getting it wrong could mean you end up creating a tax nightmare and a complex structure which can only be understood with someone with a PHD...and leaves a mess for those left behind

One question is are Family Protection Trust or Property Trust simply a Will Trust by a different name with extra conditions added? Or are they distinct things and very different....?

We are completing our LPAs (for health & finances) completed at the same time

Any clarity in this minefield greatly appreciated

xylophone

I get the sense professional companies only sell what they are confoirtable with and based on what the understand .

Are you consulting a solicitor expert in Wills and Trusts?

https://www.step.org/step-directory

In my experience, the creation of a Trust in a will (except where absolutely necessary to protect a minor or vulnerable person) can lead to more trouble and expense than it's worth.

And apart from that, under certain circumstances a Deed of Variation could have the effect of negating your wishes anyway.

https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/6-386-4134?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true&bhcp=1

I have been offered Family investment Companies, Will Trust, Family Protection Trust (FPT), Property Trusts.

You can look up all the above - and be careful.

Example

https://www.cii.co.uk/learning-index/articles/asset-protection-and-probate-trusts/68038

Dox

Beware anyone who tries to flog you any sort of 'trust' or other device which they claim will ensure your home can't be sold to pay care home fees.

Keep_pedalling

Sounds like you are trying to control your beneficiaries beyond the grave. Very really a good thing to do, and they are likely to curse you for it.

Malthusian

mr_dimwit wrote: »

Th problem is getting it wrong could mean you end up creating a tax nightmare and a complex structure which can only be understood with someone with a PHD...and leaves a mess for those left behind

You need to decide whether you want to try to control your money from beyond the grave or keep things simple and minimise tax. The two are mutually exclusive.

One question is are Family Protection Trust or Property Trust simply a Will Trust by a different name with extra conditions added? Or are they distinct things and very different....?

The third is a real thing. The first two are marketing labels.

xylophone wrote:

And apart from that, under certain circumstances a Deed of Variation could have the effect of negating your wishes anyway.

As could the beneficiaries winding the trust up post-death, or the trustees using their discretion to distribute the assets to them.

Malthusian

A more reliable way to ensure that your money passes down through the bloodline is to tell your children to divorce their spouses immediately, or you will write them out of your Will, until they divorce them. If they remarry you write them out again.

(I don't know if it's possible to make legacies in a Will contingent on the beneficiary being unmarried at the time of death, or whether a court would strike it out as unreasonable, but it's certainly less reliable than a simple in / out change while you are alive and compos mentis.)

This still leaves the "problem" of the spouses of grandchildren and remoter issue, but the longer the Trust goes on for, the less likely it is that it will manage to keep the money entirely in the hands of lifelong bachelor / spinster descendants anyway.

AnotherJoe

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Sounds like you are trying to control your beneficiaries beyond the grave. Very really a good thing to do, and they are likely to curse you for it.

An unfortunate typo there? really = rarely ?
And i agree.

SouthLondonUser

mr_dimwit wrote: »

My wife & I are getting our Wills rewritten and we are looking at Trusts mainly to ensure our wishes are carried out and the money is used for good purposes and retained in the family (follows the bloodline)

How old are you and your children?

What exactly are you trying to achieve? Are you worried about protecting minor children and safeguarding the assets till the children are old and mature enough?

Do you want to make sure the money doesn't go to in-laws you dislike?

What kind of 'persons' have you received professional advice from and in what have they contradicted each other? I'd be very careful of 'wealth managers' and 'companies' that set up trusts; have you spoken to a solicitor who specialises in family law, wills and trusts?