My dad left money to be held in trust for my children - help please!

LydiaWB

Hi
My dad passed away last October leaving a will, both named executors renounced probate so I've been left to deal with everything.
We have the grant of probate and I now have to set up accounts for my 3 children for the money to be paid into. My dad's will states that it will be held in trust and they can recieve it upon attaining the age of 25. My sister and I are the only other beneficiaries and are trustees. I have no idea what to do - what kind of accounts do I need to open? My son is 18 and my daughters are 17 and 8. I emailed my solicitor asking for advice but have not heard back yet.
Any help or advice would really be appreciated!

Marcon

How about waiting for your solicitor to reply? You're much more likely to get an accurate answer, particularly as you are intending to ensure the funds can't be accessed until age 25 - which needs careful handling in terms of how the trust is set up (and may not be possible, depending on the wording of the will). Relying on a free forum, where nobody reading your post has the necessary information, is highly likely to create more problems than it will ever solve.

wilfred30

I'm sure I've seen several times on here that the age restriction is not enforceable and that the child is legally entitled to the money at age 18.

Hopefully, someone will be along soon to either confirm or refute that.

TW1234

Much depends on how willing/able you are to readup on Trusts. You probably need to understand whether a "Bare Trust" or "Discretionary" one is required. Administering them them is not difficult, once the concept is understood, but if you feel it is not within your capability, do obtain competitive quotes from solicitors.

wilfred30 said:

I'm sure I've seen several times on here that the age restriction is not enforceable and that the child is legally entitled to the money at age 18.

Hopefully, someone will be along soon to either confirm or refute that.

Basically right, although the beneficiary may not be aware of the possibility, but the trust maker should be aware of that option.

xylophone

 The first step is to clarify with your solicitor whether or not the bequests have "indefeasibly vested"
in the children.

See https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/trusts-settlements-and-estates-manual/tsem1563

This will enable you to clarify whether or not a "bare trust" is created by the will. This does affect the tax position - see below.

https://www.gov.uk/trusts-taxes/types-of-trust

It is not impossible for  assets to be held in bare trust for those over the age of 18 (16 in Scotland) but legally the beneficiary of a bare trust has the right to call for access and control at those ages.

Brynsam

...or as Marcon sensibly pointed out, just wait for your solicitor to reply.