Trusts, tax & estate planning

Creating and preserving your legacy.

Considering estate and succession planning during your lifetime gives you the opportunity to structure your affairs in a flexible and tax-efficient way for the short and long term.  You may be looking to provide for children or grandchildren without them having control too soon, preserve business assets, or protect a disabled child.  To ensure that your wealth is structured in line with your priorities, you need an expert adviser to provide you with creative and individually tailored advice.  While the scope for people domiciled in the UK to create new trusts tax-efficiently is more restricted than in the past, there are still a number of planning options.

make an enquiry Trusts, tax & estate planning Read more Meet the team
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Make an enquiry Experienced lawyers to assist you in all areas of estate and succession planning

Our team will guide you through the available tax and succession planning opportunities and provide effective strategies to deal with issues which could impact the transfer of wealth including marital breakdown, financial immaturity, mental incapacity and providing for disabled beneficiaries.

We support individuals, families and trustees in the establishment and administration of trusts and other estate planning structures. We also advise on the ongoing management of existing trusts, including changes of trustees, restructuring and taxation.

We know that each and every client is unique so we spend time gaining a thorough understanding of your specific circumstances and what is important to you and your family with regards to succession. We will then work with you to manage your estate in a way that is tax-efficient and fulfils your wishes for your family’s future.

Some of the areas our specialist estate planning, tax and trust lawyers advise upon include:

  • Advising upon and establishing trusts including living trusts, interest in possession trusts, and legacy trusts
  • The administration of trusts, including advising upon the tax consequences of estate planning and trusts, and preparing tax returns
  • Wills for clients with complex and/or high value estates
  • Post-death estate planning, including deeds of variation and the restructuring of will trusts with retrospective effect for inheritance tax purposes
  • Advising entrepreneurs and owner-managed/family businesses on tax and succession planning
  • Preparing and registering a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
  • All matters relating to the Court of Protection
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Services

We help businesses & individuals in complex issues such as:

Click an area of focus above for more information.

Make an enquiry Trust Administration

As a trustee, you are responsible for looking after assets on behalf of beneficiaries. This requires up-to-date knowledge of trust law and the reporting requirements that go with it. If you fail to exercise care when performing your duties, you may incur personal liability and become financially liable for losses to which you have contributed.

We help trustees stay on top of their obligations. We can assist in the administration of the trust to the required standard, removing the burden from trustees and avoiding HMRC penalties. Our service covers a range of tasks including:

  • ensuring the trustees understand the terms of the trust
  • helping trustees understand their legal powers and responsibilities
  • managing trust administration for trustees throughout the life of the trust
  • reviewing the trust regularly as required by the Trustee Act 2000
  • preparing the annual trust accounts
  • dealing with trust tax compliance
  • providing beneficiaries with information
  • acting as professional trustees.

Whether you wish to create a trust or are a trustee yourself, we have the expertise to assist you. We offer a complete service, from trust formation right through to ongoing trust management and reporting. You can be confident of meeting all legal and financial obligations for the life of the trust and beyond.

Make an enquiryClose more information
 

Make an enquiry Duties of Trustees

Trustees are responsible for managing the trust efficiently to protect the assets and interests of the beneficiaries.

As part of this, there are several legal duties that you must fulfil, and five statutory powers which you may use to carry out your duties. Failure to comply with your duties and use your powers honestly can have serious consequences, including personal liability for any losses, so it is important to understand what your duties and powers are.

The duties of a trustee

  • Care and skill: You must use reasonable care and skill when managing the trust, taking into consideration your level of knowledge. Professional trustees are held to a higher standard.
  • Comply with the terms of the trust: Trustees must follow the provisions of the trust and not act outside the scope of their authority.
  • Honesty: You must act honestly in the best interests of the beneficiaries and not take advantage of or profit from any position of power you may have.
  • Avoid conflicts of interest: You must avoid any conflict between your personal interest and those of your role as trustee, ensuring you act in the best interests of the trust’s beneficiaries at all times.
  • Act impartially and in good faith: You must make decisions based on what is best for the beneficiaries, without favouring any one person or group over another.
  • Invest trust funds sensibly: Trustees have a duty to protect the trust’s funds and invest them in a way that is likely to give the greatest returns available within reasonable limits.
  • Keep accounts: You will need to keep accurate and up-to-date records of all financial transactions made on behalf of the trust and complete annual tax returns where required.
  • Seek professional advice: If necessary, you must seek out specialist advice to fulfil your duties competently.
  • Act unanimously: Decisions must be agreed upon by all trustees, with a few limited exceptions.

 

The five statutory powers of trustees

  • Investment: Trustees have the power to invest the trust’s assets which they must balance against a duty to ensure investments are reasonably diversified to reduce risk and changed if necessary for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
  • Insurance: Trustees can arrange insurance cover for any assets held in trust or liabilities incurred by them as trustees.
  • Advancement: Under certain circumstances, trustees can advance money from the trust to a beneficiary, up to the whole of the beneficiary’s share.
  • Delegation: Trustees can delegate certain responsibilities and decisions to an appropriate person or body, such as a professional adviser.
  • Maintenance: For certain types of trusts, if a beneficiary is aged under 18 years, you are able to apply income from the trust towards the maintenance, education and benefit of the minor beneficiary. The rest is accumulated and added to the trust’s capital.

 

Why is this important?

If a trustee fails to discharge their duties, or oversteps the limits of their power, they may be held personally liable for any loss or damage suffered. The trustee may also be removed from their position. It is therefore important for trustees to understand their duties and powers and act with the proper standard of care when managing the trust.

For more information or advice about your duties as a trustee, please contact us.

Make an enquiryClose more information
 

Make an enquiry Family Trusts

Creating a lifetime trust, such as a family trust, can help ensure that your financial assets pass tax-efficiently to your loved ones while protecting your estate from residential care fees them from risk from others and themselves. We can help you plan ahead and preserve family wealth for the next generation.

Find out more.

Make an enquiryClose more information
 

Make an enquiry Will Trusts

Created by your will and taking effect on death, a will trust can be an effective way of passing wealth to your loved ones while avoiding unnecessary Inheritance Tax.

Find out more.

Make an enquiryClose more information
 

Make an enquiry International Estate Planning

If you are a foreign national living in Britain or have overseas interests that may be subject to taxation abroad as well as here, then your estate plan will need to take into account multiple jurisdictions. This adds more complexity but can also create opportunities for reducing your tax liabilities.

Our international estate planning solicitors can assist you with effective strategies for structuring your global wealth. We can help you:

  • Move wealth between countries
  • Change your domicile for tax purposes
  • Set up trusts that are compliant with different sets of laws
  • Minimise the impact of double taxation
  • Transfer assets during your lifetime
  • Support family members around the world
  • Manage your intentional portfolio for the benefit of future generations

 

Our team is made up of experts in international tax law and estate planning who work with clients around the world. However large your estate and wherever it is located, we can help you put the right structures in place to ensure it is passed down intact. Please contact us for a confidential discussion about your needs.

For UK/US tax advice, please contact our UK/US  tax and estate planning lawyers.

Make an enquiryClose more information
 

Make an enquiry Efficient tax and estate planning

Estate planning is essential to protecting your wealth for future generations. It is not just about saving tax, but ensuring that, when the time comes, all your assets go to the right people at the time and in the manner you want them to, as tax-efficiently as possible. Whether your focus is on preserving a family business, controlling your wealth, or shielding foreign assets from unnecessary taxation, we can help you minimise your liabilities and ensure the best possible outcome.

Estate planning encompasses everything involved in preparing for life’s eventualities, including death and incapacity. It involves creating an overall plan for how your assets will be managed, disposed of or distributed after death, including how taxes are to be paid and which heirs or charities should receive what you’ve left behind.

Many confuse estate planning with making a will, but they are not the same thing. While will-making is an important part of estate planning, your strategy may also include:

  • powers of attorney to appoint individuals to make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself
  • beneficiary designations for pension, annuities and life insurance policies
  • setting up one or more trusts to safeguard assets for beneficiaries and potentially enjoy tax savings
  • changing the ownership of your home or assets during your lifetime
  • making use of lifetime gift allowances and other exemptions to reduce your tax liability

 

Ultimately, estate planning is about creating the best legal structures for preserving wealth for future generations. Some of the benefits include:

  • protects the wealth that you have accumulated during your lifetime from being eroded by taxation, estate expenses or legal fees
  • ensures funds and assets are bequeathed as you wish
  • appoints the right people to manage your estate and carry out your wishes
  • helps you prepare for retirement or disability
  • sreduces the potential for family disagreements after you die

It is not possible to achieve these benefits with a will alone. Wills, trusts and other wealth-management structures often work better when combined than individually.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is charged on death at 40% of the value of assets over a certain threshold, which at the moment is £325,000. If no reliefs were applied to an estate worth £1 million,  IHT of £270,000 would be due.

The burden of IHT has increased significantly over the last decade because the threshold above which tax is charged  has not changed for over a decade unlike the value of UK property.   There are exemptions and reliefs available but the but the opportunities to mitigate . You could, for example:

  • Set up trusts that can hold assets outside of your estate and still pass them down to your children
  • Use your annual IHT exemption to give up to £3,000 away each year or £6,000 if you haven’t used the previous year’s allowance
  • Use your nil-rate band to transfer assets to a partner or spouse free of IHT
  • Make use of the agricultural and business property reliefs

 

A professionally drawn estate plan, with proper tax advice, is the best way to reduce your IHT liability and ensure your interests are protected. Your solicitor will be happy to discuss your options in confidence.

Make an enquiryClose more information
 

Make an enquiry Lasting power of attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions on your behalf should you become unable to do so yourself. You can give instructions on what should happen to your money, health or well-being in the event of old age, illness or injury that affects your mental capacity. While a will ensures your wishes are carried out after death, a Lasting Power of Attorney is created to protect your interests during your lifetime.

Find more information on our lasting power of attorney FAQs page.

Make an enquiryClose more information
 
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    Trusts, tax & estate planning key contacts

    Latest content and downloads

    Check out our latest content and downloads View all our downloads

    Tailored support for individuals and families

    Specialising in complex wealth structuring, we work closely with individuals and families based in the UK and overseas to protect their wealth now and in the future.

    LASTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY EXPLAINED

    What are lasting powers of attorney? Why make an LPA ? What does it cover? When can an LPA be used? What information is needed? Our guide on making an LPA covers everything you need to know when considering giving another person certain authority to make decisions, in circumstances where you no longer have the mental capacity to do so on your own.

    Coronavirus: Tips for private clients

    We have put together a helpful list of the important tax and estate planning tips you should be thinking about during, and in the aftermath of, the coronavirus pandemic.

    Recent experience

    • For clients who own trading businesses, trusts can be a useful succession and tax planning vehicles to ensure the preservation of our clients’ wealth.  For example, it may be possible to transfer shares in a business into a trust free from inheritance tax, while also optimising the capital gains tax position

      UK TRUSTS, TAX AND ESTATE PLANNING

      Trusts for business owners

      Case study

      For clients who own trading businesses, trusts can be a useful succession and tax planning vehicles to ensure the preservation of our clients’ wealth.  For example, it may be possible to transfer shares in a business into a trust free from inheritance tax, while also optimising the capital gains tax position

      Read more

    • Where clients wish to provide for their children and grandchildren (e.g. for the provision of school fees), it can be prudent to create a trust of up to the available inheritance tax allowance (known as the nil rate band). There will be no inheritance tax on creation and a new trust of this type can be created every seven years.  Also, if clients have surplus income, outright gifts or gifts into trust out of this surplus income can be made which are completely exempt from inheritance tax.

      UK TRUSTS, TAX AND ESTATE PLANNING

      Trusts for future generations

      Case study

      Where clients wish to provide for their children and grandchildren (e.g. for the provision of school fees), it can be prudent to create a trust of up to the available inheritance tax allowance (known as the nil rate band). There will be no inheritance tax on creation and a new trust of this type can be created every seven years.  Also, if clients have surplus income, outright gifts or gifts into trust out of this surplus income can be made which are completely exempt from inheritance tax.

      Read more

    “The team is first-class – knowledgeable, approachable and offers excellent value for money”

    Legal 500, 2020

    Trusts, tax & estate planning latest updates
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    Trusts, tax & estate planning

    Trusts, tax & estate planning

    Creating and preserving your legacy.

    Considering estate and succession planning during your lifetime gives you the opportunity to structure your affairs in a flexible and tax-efficient way for the short and long term.  You may be looking to provide for children or grandchildren without them having control too soon, preserve business assets, or protect a disabled child.  To ensure that your wealth is structured in line with your priorities, you need an expert adviser to provide you with creative and individually tailored advice.  While the scope for people domiciled in the UK to create new trusts tax-efficiently is more restricted than in the past, there are still a number of planning options.

    Read more

    Our team will guide you through the available tax and succession planning opportunities and provide effective strategies to deal with issues which could impact the transfer of wealth including marital breakdown, financial immaturity, mental incapacity and providing for disabled beneficiaries.

    We support individuals, families and trustees in the establishment and administration of trusts and other estate planning structures. We also advise on the ongoing management of existing trusts, including changes of trustees, restructuring and taxation.

    We know that each and every client is unique so we spend time gaining a thorough understanding of your specific circumstances and what is important to you and your family with regards to succession. We will then work with you to manage your estate in a way that is tax-efficient and fulfils your wishes for your family’s future.

    Some of the areas our specialist estate planning, tax and trust lawyers advise upon include:

    • Advising upon and establishing trusts including living trusts, interest in possession trusts, and legacy trusts
    • The administration of trusts, including advising upon the tax consequences of estate planning and trusts, and preparing tax returns
    • Wills for clients with complex and/or high value estates
    • Post-death estate planning, including deeds of variation and the restructuring of will trusts with retrospective effect for inheritance tax purposes
    • Advising entrepreneurs and owner-managed/family businesses on tax and succession planning
    • Preparing and registering a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
    • All matters relating to the Court of Protection

    Make an enquiry

    Key Contacts

    Want to connect? Select someone below to view their profile.

    View the team

    We help businesses & individuals in complex issues such as:

    Trust Administration

    As a trustee, you are responsible for looking after assets on behalf of beneficiaries. This requires up-to-date knowledge of trust law and the reporting requirements that go with it. If you fail to exercise care when performing your duties, you may incur personal liability and become financially liable for losses to which you have contributed.

    We help trustees stay on top of their obligations. We can assist in the administration of the trust to the required standard, removing the burden from trustees and avoiding HMRC penalties. Our service covers a range of tasks including:

    • ensuring the trustees understand the terms of the trust
    • helping trustees understand their legal powers and responsibilities
    • managing trust administration for trustees throughout the life of the trust
    • reviewing the trust regularly as required by the Trustee Act 2000
    • preparing the annual trust accounts
    • dealing with trust tax compliance
    • providing beneficiaries with information
    • acting as professional trustees.

    Whether you wish to create a trust or are a trustee yourself, we have the expertise to assist you. We offer a complete service, from trust formation right through to ongoing trust management and reporting. You can be confident of meeting all legal and financial obligations for the life of the trust and beyond.

    Duties of Trustees

    Trustees are responsible for managing the trust efficiently to protect the assets and interests of the beneficiaries.

    As part of this, there are several legal duties that you must fulfil, and five statutory powers which you may use to carry out your duties. Failure to comply with your duties and use your powers honestly can have serious consequences, including personal liability for any losses, so it is important to understand what your duties and powers are.

    The duties of a trustee

    • Care and skill: You must use reasonable care and skill when managing the trust, taking into consideration your level of knowledge. Professional trustees are held to a higher standard.
    • Comply with the terms of the trust: Trustees must follow the provisions of the trust and not act outside the scope of their authority.
    • Honesty: You must act honestly in the best interests of the beneficiaries and not take advantage of or profit from any position of power you may have.
    • Avoid conflicts of interest: You must avoid any conflict between your personal interest and those of your role as trustee, ensuring you act in the best interests of the trust’s beneficiaries at all times.
    • Act impartially and in good faith: You must make decisions based on what is best for the beneficiaries, without favouring any one person or group over another.
    • Invest trust funds sensibly: Trustees have a duty to protect the trust’s funds and invest them in a way that is likely to give the greatest returns available within reasonable limits.
    • Keep accounts: You will need to keep accurate and up-to-date records of all financial transactions made on behalf of the trust and complete annual tax returns where required.
    • Seek professional advice: If necessary, you must seek out specialist advice to fulfil your duties competently.
    • Act unanimously: Decisions must be agreed upon by all trustees, with a few limited exceptions.

     

    The five statutory powers of trustees

    • Investment: Trustees have the power to invest the trust’s assets which they must balance against a duty to ensure investments are reasonably diversified to reduce risk and changed if necessary for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
    • Insurance: Trustees can arrange insurance cover for any assets held in trust or liabilities incurred by them as trustees.
    • Advancement: Under certain circumstances, trustees can advance money from the trust to a beneficiary, up to the whole of the beneficiary’s share.
    • Delegation: Trustees can delegate certain responsibilities and decisions to an appropriate person or body, such as a professional adviser.
    • Maintenance: For certain types of trusts, if a beneficiary is aged under 18 years, you are able to apply income from the trust towards the maintenance, education and benefit of the minor beneficiary. The rest is accumulated and added to the trust’s capital.

     

    Why is this important?

    If a trustee fails to discharge their duties, or oversteps the limits of their power, they may be held personally liable for any loss or damage suffered. The trustee may also be removed from their position. It is therefore important for trustees to understand their duties and powers and act with the proper standard of care when managing the trust.

    For more information or advice about your duties as a trustee, please contact us.

    Family Trusts

    Creating a lifetime trust, such as a family trust, can help ensure that your financial assets pass tax-efficiently to your loved ones while protecting your estate from residential care fees them from risk from others and themselves. We can help you plan ahead and preserve family wealth for the next generation.

    Find out more.

    Will Trusts

    Created by your will and taking effect on death, a will trust can be an effective way of passing wealth to your loved ones while avoiding unnecessary Inheritance Tax.

    Find out more.

    International Estate Planning

    If you are a foreign national living in Britain or have overseas interests that may be subject to taxation abroad as well as here, then your estate plan will need to take into account multiple jurisdictions. This adds more complexity but can also create opportunities for reducing your tax liabilities.

    Our international estate planning solicitors can assist you with effective strategies for structuring your global wealth. We can help you:

    • Move wealth between countries
    • Change your domicile for tax purposes
    • Set up trusts that are compliant with different sets of laws
    • Minimise the impact of double taxation
    • Transfer assets during your lifetime
    • Support family members around the world
    • Manage your intentional portfolio for the benefit of future generations

     

    Our team is made up of experts in international tax law and estate planning who work with clients around the world. However large your estate and wherever it is located, we can help you put the right structures in place to ensure it is passed down intact. Please contact us for a confidential discussion about your needs.

    For UK/US tax advice, please contact our UK/US  tax and estate planning lawyers.

    Efficient tax and estate planning

    Estate planning is essential to protecting your wealth for future generations. It is not just about saving tax, but ensuring that, when the time comes, all your assets go to the right people at the time and in the manner you want them to, as tax-efficiently as possible. Whether your focus is on preserving a family business, controlling your wealth, or shielding foreign assets from unnecessary taxation, we can help you minimise your liabilities and ensure the best possible outcome.

    Estate planning encompasses everything involved in preparing for life’s eventualities, including death and incapacity. It involves creating an overall plan for how your assets will be managed, disposed of or distributed after death, including how taxes are to be paid and which heirs or charities should receive what you’ve left behind.

    Many confuse estate planning with making a will, but they are not the same thing. While will-making is an important part of estate planning, your strategy may also include:

    • powers of attorney to appoint individuals to make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself
    • beneficiary designations for pension, annuities and life insurance policies
    • setting up one or more trusts to safeguard assets for beneficiaries and potentially enjoy tax savings
    • changing the ownership of your home or assets during your lifetime
    • making use of lifetime gift allowances and other exemptions to reduce your tax liability

     

    Ultimately, estate planning is about creating the best legal structures for preserving wealth for future generations. Some of the benefits include:

    • protects the wealth that you have accumulated during your lifetime from being eroded by taxation, estate expenses or legal fees
    • ensures funds and assets are bequeathed as you wish
    • appoints the right people to manage your estate and carry out your wishes
    • helps you prepare for retirement or disability
    • sreduces the potential for family disagreements after you die

    It is not possible to achieve these benefits with a will alone. Wills, trusts and other wealth-management structures often work better when combined than individually.

    Inheritance Tax (IHT) is charged on death at 40% of the value of assets over a certain threshold, which at the moment is £325,000. If no reliefs were applied to an estate worth £1 million,  IHT of £270,000 would be due.

    The burden of IHT has increased significantly over the last decade because the threshold above which tax is charged  has not changed for over a decade unlike the value of UK property.   There are exemptions and reliefs available but the but the opportunities to mitigate . You could, for example:

    • Set up trusts that can hold assets outside of your estate and still pass them down to your children
    • Use your annual IHT exemption to give up to £3,000 away each year or £6,000 if you haven’t used the previous year’s allowance
    • Use your nil-rate band to transfer assets to a partner or spouse free of IHT
    • Make use of the agricultural and business property reliefs

     

    A professionally drawn estate plan, with proper tax advice, is the best way to reduce your IHT liability and ensure your interests are protected. Your solicitor will be happy to discuss your options in confidence.

    Lasting power of attorney

    A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions on your behalf should you become unable to do so yourself. You can give instructions on what should happen to your money, health or well-being in the event of old age, illness or injury that affects your mental capacity. While a will ensures your wishes are carried out after death, a Lasting Power of Attorney is created to protect your interests during your lifetime.

    Find more information on our lasting power of attorney FAQs page.

    Make an enquiry

    Recent experience

    • Trusts for business owners

      Case study

      Trusts for business owners

      For clients who own trading businesses, trusts can be a useful succession and tax planning vehicles to ensure the preservation of our clients’ wealth.  For example, it may be possible to transfer shares in a business into a trust free from inheritance tax, while also optimising the capital gains tax position

    • Trusts for future generations

      Case study

      Trusts for future generations

      Where clients wish to provide for their children and grandchildren (e.g. for the provision of school fees), it can be prudent to create a trust of up to the available inheritance tax allowance (known as the nil rate band). There will be no inheritance tax on creation and a new trust of this type can be created every seven years.  Also, if clients have surplus income, outright gifts or gifts into trust out of this surplus income can be made which are completely exempt from inheritance tax.

    View all insights

    PREV NEXT

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