help please with Universal Wealth preservation Trust

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  • bowlhead99
    bowlhead99 Posts: 12,295
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    jimjames wrote: »
    Before you allow them in why not ask your solicitor or financial advisor what they think?

    No way would I invite someone from a company like this into my home. It's bad enough being at a seminar but why would you let them come to you?
    I agree with finding your own solicitor / advisor to get a second opinion, although clearly those selling the scheme would not recommend that, because it effectively doubles up on some of the cost base (i.e. cost for them to concoct the scheme and your own advisor to fully review the scheme and then say how they might have done it instead, with lots of caveats).

    A problem is that 'law' is quite a wide ranging subject, as is 'financial advice'. And so in terms of 'why not ask your advisor'... firstly many of us do not have a standard 'go to' advisor ; secondly, even if we have someone we've used for certain limited scope activities - house conveyancing, a contract dispute, pension investment portfolio planning - that person may not be a STEP specialist or hold themselves out as being an expert in the area of estate planning. Perhaps they could pick obvious holes in the plan but not give you the bespoke tailored advice you were looking for. Of course, you might just be happy with them picking holes, if it saves you from buying a flawed or expensive product.

    If they are an expert in that area, you can probably just get them to construct you something, rather than need to engage the group being discussed in this thread. If they're not an expert however, they might make a referral to a reputable group who doesn't need 'granny seminars' to drive their business. Either way I would suspect you would be able to have a bespoke, working solution as the outcome of that process and probably leave the above mentioned group, on the shelf. I doubt they are doing anything miraculous that nobody else has thought of, in terms of how to solve the various individual planning problems that make up a 'universal' solution to wealth preservation.

    Ultimately such individual planning problems result in decisions being taken around cost, risks and benefits including both pros and cons, and inevitably you can't keep all the pros and none of the cons without taking on a risk of it all being challenged (and the person setting it up, still being in business when it's being unravelled down the line). If someone is offering a single perfect universal solution that seems like value for money, they should be regarded as snake oil salesmen: - telling you what you want to hear, rather than what the real risks, expenses and downsides could really be in all the worst case hypothetical scenarios.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 115,904
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    Motormad wrote: »
    I went to a seminar 2 or 3 years ago similar to this although it was to protect against care home fees not IHT.I was quite taken with it but didn't proceed,it was around 3k per couple and included the cost of probate and they stated that they would fight the L A if they tried to counter it at no cost to ourselves.It was organised by an IFA firm and they even had Justin Urqhart Stewart as a guest speaker.Im speaking from N E Scotland so the laws probably a bit different in our case.

    That probably resulted in the sale of an investment bond. That investment tax wrapper is not included in the means test as long as the reason for doing it was not stated as avoiding the means test. i.e. it has to be a happy coincidence. Such as recommending it for IHT planning or tax efficiency or low charges.

    Quite genuine although buying via seminars can be quite an expensive way to do it. Often worth listening to what is said and then find your own local IFA to discuss it.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Nosler
    Nosler Posts: 615 Forumite
    I understand that any capital gains are crystallised when assets are put into a trust.....
  • My FIL has just told us he's paid £1400 to this company to stop his two sons having to pay inheritance tax. Is this a good scheme?

    He is someone who gets draw in and will never learn, he was a victim of a perimid, scheme and lost £3000 on that one.

    Any advice would be very gratefully received
  • My parents did not obtain independent advice prior setting up Trusts with this organisation. Since both their deaths I have obtained independent legal advice from a Trust specialist. In summary: the basis upon which they were sold the Trusts, some 6 years ago was dubious, in addition the managing director Steve Long claimed he was a lawyer (BBC 2011) when he is not. I believe this latter claim prompted trusting individuals such as my parents to believe they did not need to obtain independent advice.

    The information provided to my parents failed to set out the pros and cons of setting up the Trusts nor the loss of control of their asset; their home now registered to Steve & Melanie Long at the Land Registry. Before his death my father became very distressed by this revelation.

    Since 2012 there has been a considerable increase in the companies assets and an increase in power base of Steve Long. The majority of staff are unqualified salesmen which calls into question whether it is right and proper for an organisation to be advising on a major legal product where they have a vested interest and sales targets to meet.

    Other issues include: unsupported property valuations at set up, lack of knowledge of the full personal assets of my parents so undermining the purpose, inappropriate Trust for what was required so attracting IHT which would not have been the situation without the Trusts, legal documents lost and a general lack of professionalism.

    My parents believed they were leaving a better financial situation for their family; in fact it has created a complicated, expensive and difficult problem for the beneficiaries to sort out. I will not hesitate to get redress from this organisation if we are unable to quickly extract the assets from this mess.
  • sam67_2
    sam67_2 Posts: 1 Newbie
    edited 3 February 2017 at 7:42PM
    I've joined this forum specifically after googling the company name. My parents have just told me that they signed up for this scheme a few years ago and after seeking advice from a solicitor have been notified that their home is registered to this couple. The solicitor advised them to remove their names asap, how do you even do this?

    They are now worried sick and extremely concerned as to what will happen when they pass away. They have lived in their home nearly 50 years and the thought of someone else having control over it just sickens me.
    Do you mind me asking how things are going with you and is anything resolved? I don't know where to start!
  • Doc_N
    Doc_N Posts: 8,266
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    edited 16 March 2017 at 9:43AM
    sam67 wrote: »
    I've joined this forum specifically after googling the company name. My parents have just told me that they signed up for this scheme a few years ago and after seeking advice from a solicitor have been notified that their home is registered to this couple. The solicitor advised them to remove their names asap, how do you even do this?

    They are now worried sick and extremely concerned as to what will happen when they pass away. They have lived in their home nearly 50 years and the thought of someone else having control over it just sickens me.
    Do you mind me asking how things are going with you and is anything resolved? I don't know where to start!

    I have to say first that the only direct knowledge I have of these people is via a seminar I attended out of curiosity to see what they were up to.

    {Text removed by MSE Investigator}

    You'd need first to get hold of a copy of the trust deed to find out who the trustees are, what assets they hold, and who the beneficiaries are. It's probably a form of discretionary trust, with a class of potential beneficiaries who can receive benefits under the trust, but you need to see the actual documentation. Whether the trustees can be removed depends to some extent on the trust document, but it's by no means a simple matter and legal advice/action would almost certainly be needed.
  • Pincher
    Pincher Posts: 6,552
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    edited 3 February 2017 at 8:25PM
    http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/parents-call-in-lawyers-over-soaring-care-costs-vnkfl22zs

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4027824/Rising-cost-elderly-care-causing-middle-aged-parents-call-lawyers-make-clear-DIE-children-pay-looked-after.html

    Ageing parents are drawing up legal documents to state they would rather die than allow excessive care home fees to eat into their child's inheritance.


    If you want something, somebody will sell it to you.

    If you want a husband/wife, there's a dating site that will promise to get you one.

    My father secretly made a will, after I told him it's a problem if there is no will. In the will, He gifted me a house that wasn't in his name. He literally went for the cheapest solicitor he could find in the classified ads. :rotfl:

    Parents, it's a wonder they managed to have children at all.

    Hmm, maybe I should get myself tested, since I'm the son of an idiot. :eek:
  • I was just about to start a new thread for advice (which I will probably do anyway) but my mother had a trust with Universal Wealth. She has recently had to sell the property to downscale, the proceeds went to the trust however she has not received it she is now homeless and penny less!

    Steven Long is apparently out of the country and no one will respond to her the money is awol.

    She is seeking legal advice but it does not look good.
  • Reaper
    Reaper Posts: 7,277
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    Steven Long is apparently out of the country and no one will respond to her the money is awol.
    Back in 2011 the BBC was suspicious of the scheme, and mentions:
    When the BBC tried to contact Mr Long to put the allegations to him it was told he was out of the country.
    He was in fact giving seminars in Southampton and Gloucester.
    So I would take that claim with a pinch of salt. Maybe you should turn up to one of their seminars and ask awkward questions.
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