Taxes and long-term care fees can consume a large proportion of the assets of elderly people, who would naturally prefer their family to inherit their wealth.

Rather than making an outright gift of your home or other property, let us advise you on setting up a Family Trust. By establishing a Family Trust, you can mitigate the financial penalties of growing old, and protect your family’s inheritance.

Inheritance is a complex and poorly understood area of law. Many people consider making a gift of their property to family members, in an attempt to protect the property from taxes and long-term care fees. This is not effective for tax, and may leave property vulnerable to divorce or bankruptcy proceedings.

Advantages of Family Trusts

• Avoid unnecessary stress by dealing with inheritance issues before death.
• Gain peace of mind in the knowledge that property will pass upon the terms of the trust after death.
• Avoid delays after death. Properties in Family Trusts may be sold without a Grant of Representation. The trustees can sign all the paperwork.
• All paperwork relating to the property can be dealt with by the trustees, in the event of loss of your mental capacity.
• Your home can continue to be occupied by you until it is no longer suitable or no longer needed, in which event income from capital might be available to supplement the your income. Additional payments of income can also be made at the discretion of the trustees.
• The trustees do not own the property in the trust fund for themselves. The property is held for your benefit and is not theirs to deal with as they see fit. Also, the capital within the trust would not be vulnerable to creditors.
• Benefit from tax advantages. In most cases, there is no Capital Gains Tax or Income Tax payable by transferring your home into a Family Trust. Inheritance Tax will remain unaffected.

Important note

This page contains only the briefest of summaries relating to Family Trusts. It is not a substitute for full legal advice. Advice can only be given after consideration of all relevant facts.

This is a complex area of law and therefore any planning should be done on the advice of an expert, in order to ensure as far as possible the protection of the estate.