TRUST FUND ACCESS IN TIME OF NEED

colby1967

My wife (62), daughter (19) and me (53) are facing financial ruin, as are so many others. 
I pay private rent for the family home and for our daughters accommodation at college, plus her college fees and we have no income as a result of Covid 19. 
We are fortunate in that we are all named as the beneficiaries in my wife’s, deceased Sister’s Will, along with any future children of my daughter. However, there is a discretionary Trust and the Trustees (my wife being one of three) will not give us access to the funds until my daughter is 25.
My wife daughter and me are in agreement that we would like access to the funds now, as we need it to stay afloat. We understand that now is not the best time to liquidate (approx £250K) but this is a time of great need and why should we bleed the system when there is private
It was made clear that the Trust was there to help us so is there anything we can do to try and ”force” the Trustees to help us now? 

xylophone

This is a discretionary Trust with some potential beneficiaries being as yet unborn.
The Trustees need to be in agreement about releasing funds from the Trust.
Your wife needs to ask the other Trustees to consider whether they are prepared to make a payment out of Trust in consideration of the exceptional circumstances.
https://www.gov.uk/trusts-taxes/beneficiaries-paying-and-reclaiming-tax-on-trusts
If such a payment is made, consider the tax position - see above.

and why should we bleed the system 

Not the way to look at it - there is a national emergency - you are obeying the law in not going out to work - you have a right to use the benefits the state provides in the current circumstances.

Brynsam

colby1967 said:

My wife (62), daughter (19) and me (53) are facing financial ruin, as are so many others. 
I pay private rent for the family home and for our daughters accommodation at college, plus her college fees and we have no income as a result of Covid 19. 
We are fortunate in that we are all named as the beneficiaries in my wife’s, deceased Sister’s Will, along with any future children of my daughter. However, there is a discretionary Trust and the Trustees (my wife being one of three) will not give us access to the funds until my daughter is 25.
My wife daughter and me are in agreement that we would like access to the funds now, as we need it to stay afloat. We understand that now is not the best time to liquidate (approx £250K) but this is a time of great need and why should we bleed the system when there is private
It was made clear that the Trust was there to help us so is there anything we can do to try and ”force” the Trustees to help us now? 

No, you can't force them - but it is certainly worth having a 'conversation', especially as your wife is a trustee. Before doing that, check what the trust actually stipulates, which means reading the orginal document, not relying on any piecemeal extracts. You say the trustees 'will not' give you access to the funds until your daughter is 25. Do the terms of the trust formally preclude this, meaning they 'cannot', which is entirely different? 

Setting up a trust for 'future children' of a youngster of 19 isn't terribly sensible, given the modest size of the fund. Again, before having any sort of conversation, check whether these putative children are included in case you, your wife and daughter don't live to benefit from the trust.

May I endorse the comment above about accessing any benefits to which any of you may be entitled? Times aren't normal, so normal modes and attitudes (and I warmly applaud yours) simply can't be applied if you wish to survive financially.