Trusts Lawyers

Succession planning is a process to help individuals and families decide how to pass their wealth on to the next generation. It involves establishing who should receive your wealth once you have passed away, and how this will work.

Succession planning can involve various different tasks, for instance, drafting a Will which outlines who will inherit your wealth, property and other assets. It may also involve setting up trusts and utilising estate planning strategies over time, in order to safeguard your wealth.

In a business context, succession planning refers to planning to pass a business down to the next generation in the family, or selling the business to another appropriate party. Company succession planning includes the tasks and preparations that will eventually support this process.

Solicitors can support clients with succession planning, which usually involves a combination of different tasks and processes, including:

• Drafting a Tax efficient Will
• Utilising estate planning and inheritance tax planning strategies
• Setting up trusts to protect your wealth, transfer assets, and/or to reduce tax liabilities
• Succession planning for family businesses

At Cullimore Dutton, our estate lawyers can support you with all of the above tasks, and more. Please contact us for more information about how we can help with succession planning.

Putting a property into a trust can be an attractive option for many people, as part of a succession planning strategy. There can be several benefits to access, including reducing inheritance tax obligations, and removing the property from the probate process.

However, there are a few disadvantages to putting a property into a trust; these include:

• If you put your property into a trust, you, the settlor, will no longer have direct control; it will be the responsibility of the trustees to handle and manage your property according to the terms of the trust
• Setting up a trust can be an expensive option, and therefore, it may not be viable for everyone

When you work with our expert trust lawyers, we can provide personalised advice, helping you to decide whether or not this is the best option for you.

A trust may be useful where you want assets to be managed over time rather than passed outright to a beneficiary straight away. This can be relevant where children are involved, where a loved one is vulnerable, where family wealth needs careful stewardship, or where there are blended family arrangements and you want to balance different interests.

Trusts can also be used in estate planning, business succession and tax planning, depending on the circumstances. They are not suitable for every situation, so we will help you understand whether a trust is genuinely useful for what you want to achieve.

A trust may form part of inheritance tax planning, but it should not be seen as a guaranteed way to reduce tax. The position depends on the type of trust, the assets involved, when assets are transferred, your wider estate and the tax rules that apply at the relevant time.

Before you make any decisions, we can explain the likely tax considerations, the reporting requirements and the practical implications, so you can decide whether a trust is appropriate as part of your wider planning.

Yes. We can advise trustees, beneficiaries and families on existing trusts, including how the trust should be administered, what the trust document allows, whether trustees are acting within their powers, and what steps may be needed if circumstances have changed.

We can also assist with trust accounts, tax returns, distributions, trustee appointments and retirements, and the documents needed to keep the trust properly managed.

In some circumstances, it may be possible to vary, reorganise or bring a trust to an end. This will depend on the terms of the trust, the powers available to the trustees, the position of the beneficiaries and whether court approval or beneficiary agreement is required.

We can review the trust documents, explain the options and help you understand what may be possible, including the tax and practical consequences of any proposed change.

Trustees must manage the trust in line with the trust document and their legal duties. This usually means acting in the interests of the beneficiaries, keeping proper records, taking appropriate advice, dealing with tax reporting, making careful decisions and avoiding conflicts of interest.

Being a trustee is a position of responsibility. If you are unsure what you can or should do, taking advice early can help reduce the risk of mistakes, disputes or unintended tax consequences.

A trust can be helpful where a beneficiary may not be able to manage money themselves, may be at risk of pressure from others, or may need long-term support. Trustees can hold and manage funds for that person’s benefit, rather than the beneficiary receiving assets outright.

The right structure will depend on the beneficiary’s circumstances, including any care needs, means-tested benefits, family support and tax considerations. We can help you decide whether a trust is suitable and how it should fit with the wider plan.

Trusts can sometimes form part of business succession planning, particularly where shares, partnership interests, family ownership or long-term control need careful thought. They may help structure how value is held or passed on, but they need to work alongside the business documents and the practical realities of running the business.

We can advise on how trust planning may sit alongside your Will, shareholder or partnership arrangements, tax considerations and wider family succession plans.

It helps to have a broad picture of your assets, including property, savings, investments, pensions, business interests and any existing Wills or trust documents. It is also useful to think about who you want to benefit, who may be suitable to act as trustee, and what concerns you are trying to address.

Do not worry if you do not have everything ready. We can start with what you know and help you identify what further information may be needed.