Disabled Trust Fund

Chrissy2k2

Help needed please!
My parents died last year and the estate is to be split 4 ways with my siblings this week..
My eldest brother is 65 and in residential care due to a brain injury. A discretionary trust has been created and I am a trustee. The solicitor has suggested I open a Trust account with Metro bank, however there’s a £150 charge, £5 monthly charge when account goes under 25k and it pays no interest 😳 which seems very unfair and I’m struggling to see the benefits of having this account?
My question is, would my brothers money be ring fenced from the Government regardless of what account it was in, or does it have to be a Trust account? Any help gratefully received, I’m finding it all very confusing and stressful 

HillStreetBlues

Chrissy2k2 said:

Help needed please!
My parents died last year and the estate is to be split 4 ways with my siblings this week..
My eldest brother is 65 and in residential care due to a brain injury. A discretionary trust has been created and I am a trustee. The solicitor has suggested I open a Trust account with Metro bank, however there’s a £150 charge, £5 monthly charge when account goes under 25k and it pays no interest 😳 which seems very unfair and I’m struggling to see the benefits of having this account?
My question is, would my brothers money be ring fenced from the Government regardless of what account it was in, or does it have to be a Trust account? Any help gratefully received, I’m finding it all very confusing and stressful 

AFAIK It needs to be in a Trust account, it's certainly an issue getting a Trust bank account these days.
The Trust will only protect if formed as part of the will, if nothing in will about a Trust  then money isn't protected for income related benefits such as Universal Credits.

Keep_pedalling

Unfortunately this is a problem with discretionary trusts in that there are few financial institutions that offer them and they don’t pay much (if any) interest. 

One possible option would be NS&I, they do pay interest and there are no fees. 

https://www.nsandi.com/files/asset/pdf/trust-faqs.pdf

Moving the money to a non trust account is not an option if this is to avoid him loosing means tested benefits.

Chrissy2k2

HillStreetBlues said:

Chrissy2k2 said:

Help needed please!
My parents died last year and the estate is to be split 4 ways with my siblings this week..
My eldest brother is 65 and in residential care due to a brain injury. A discretionary trust has been created and I am a trustee. The solicitor has suggested I open a Trust account with Metro bank, however there’s a £150 charge, £5 monthly charge when account goes under 25k and it pays no interest 😳 which seems very unfair and I’m struggling to see the benefits of having this account?
My question is, would my brothers money be ring fenced from the Government regardless of what account it was in, or does it have to be a Trust account? Any help gratefully received, I’m finding it all very confusing and stressful 

AFAIK It needs to be in a Trust account, it's certainly an issue getting a Trust bank account these days.
The Trust will only protect if formed as part of the will, if nothing in will about a Trust  then money isn't protected for income related benefits such as Universal Credits.

Thank you. Yes Metro seems to be the only provider. The disability trust has already been set up as part of the Will, 

Chrissy2k2

Keep_pedalling said:

Unfortunately this is a problem with discretionary trusts in that there are few financial institutions that offer them and they don’t pay much (if any) interest. 

One possible option would be NS&I, they do pay interest and there are no fees. 

https://www.nsandi.com/files/asset/pdf/trust-faqs.pdf

Moving the money to a non trust account is not an option if this is to avoid him loosing means tested benefits.

Thank you, yes definitely seems to be a problem with them.
So if I was to set up an ISA for him, that wouldn’t protect the money from losing benefits? He’s on ESA, DLA and mobility part of PIP

HillStreetBlues

The money must remain the Trusts, and spending should be via that Trust.  Depending how the Trust has been set up it can make investments but can't be put into personal savings such as an ISA.

retiredbanker1

Monies in a Trust fund will not count towards £16k Savings limit when it comes to means tested benefits.

We paid £600 to a provider for an account but there were no monthly charges.

marcia_

 My solicitor has advised I use Cater Allen as they are the only other bank offering trusts. 

northwalesd

marcia_ said:

 My solicitor has advised I use Cater Allen as they are the only other bank offering trusts. 

Yes, I'm a trustee for an personal injury trust account for my brother. The solicitor dealing with his accident offered Metro or Cater Allen as alternatives, but advised CAas the better option.