Trusts

Trusts can be created during your lifetime or in your Will. A trust is established when you pass assets to other people, trustees, to hold for the benefit of others, beneficiaries.

Trusts are used for many reasons:

• as part of lifetime estate planning or in your Will to safely pass assets to younger generations or to protect business assets or farming assets;
• to safeguard assets from second marriage or care fees;
• to protect personal injury compensation / damages;
• to provide protection for inheritance for vulnerable dependants.

Essentially, whether they are set up in life or contained in a Will, they are a vehicle through which we give effect to considered planning.

Trusts come in many forms and they all have different requirements for administration, responsibilities for trustees and tax compliance. Trusts do not need to be complicated, but it is important to understand how they work and what is required to prevent mistakes and problems in the future.

As trusts can last for up to 125 years, there are numerous reasons why trustees may need to be appointed, retired or removed during the life of the trust. Click here for some further reading if you are looking for advice on appointing new trustees. 

How do we help?
Trust creation: we prepare trust deeds and documents to establish trusts as part of considered estate planning advice and or within your Will;

Trust advice: we review existing trusts and advise on whether they should be retained or wound down and whether they are being run properly;

Trust administration: this involves actually running the trust and depends on the nature of the trust and the assets and beneficiaries involved. Key aspects include:

• transferring assets into the trust;
• co-ordinating the investment and daily management of trust assets;
• registering the trust with HM Revenue & Customs;
• preparing and submitting annual tax returns;
• tax calculations;
• preparing Inheritance Tax anniversary reports;
• preparing annual accounts (detailing transactions during the trust administration year);
• scheduling annual trustee meetings and preparing minutes;
• closing down the trust when it comes to an end.

Why choose us? 

• We have a flexible approach and will tailor our services to your needs
• We offer fixed fees wherever possible
• We are regulated specialist advisers on wills, lasting powers of attorney, probate, trusts, and care and estate planning
• Our team includes members of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and The Association of Lifetime Lawyers
• We confirm our advice and your instructions in writing
• No storage fees – we store your documents securely for free
• Boys & Maughan has been providing expert local advice for over 200 years.

Contact us to discuss your circumstances
Our usual approach is to have an initial no obligation phone call to explore your needs and circumstances. During the conversation we will be happy to discuss our fees and offer you an appointment at one of our offices. Please ring your local Boys & Maughan office, use the form on this page to drop us a line, or view our team profiles and contact one of our lawyers directly.