Flexible Life Interest Trust
Protecting your Family’s Future
When making your Will, you may want to ensure your spouse/civil partner is well-provided for but feel anxious about what would happen if his/her situation changes.
If your whole estate passes directly to your spouse, there is a risk that your children’s inheritance may be lost entirely or substantially reduced. If, for example, your spouse:
Remarries/has a new partner
Needs long-term care
Owes money to others
Changes his/her Will
If you are in a couple with children from previous relationships, you may be concerned about how family relationships can change after death and the increased risk of conflict and loss of inheritance.
You may also feel concerned about your children (or other beneficiaries) inheriting, for example, if they are young, vulnerable or go through a divorce in future.
As the future is difficult to predict, you may want flexibility so that decisions can be made at the time to protect inheritance from being wasted or ending up in the wrong hands.
Including a Flexible Life Interest Trust in your Will can offer several benefits:
Protection for your spouse/civil partner
Flexibility to respond to changing circumstances
Asset protection
Provide for multiple generations
Protection of vulnerable or young beneficiaries
Inheritance tax planning opportunities
Protective Property Trusts
For most people their priority is to pass their property onto their loved ones but have you considered what would happen to your property if your spouse re-married after your death or needed long term care? Your property could either be used to fund your care or the surviving spouse could change their Will and re-direct the assets.
What can be done to avoid this?
For married couples, a Protective Property Trust could be the answer. By including this type of trust within your Wills you can leave your share of your property in trust with your spouse having full use of the property during their lifetime and guarantee that your share of your property will pass to your intended beneficiaries.
The advantages of a Protective Property Trust:
you guarantee that your share of your property will be left to your intended beneficiaries
the value of your share of your property will be ring fenced from possible long term care fees
ensure your share of the property is not lost should your spouse re-marry
protects the trust property from bankruptcy
Discretionary Trust.
Flexibility and Peace of Mind
‘I want to protect my daughter’s inheritance if she gets divorced in the future’
‘I want flexibility, so my spouse, children and grandchildren receive what they need’
‘My son has a drug problem; I want peace of mind that the money is used wisely for him, and not wasted’
‘I’d like to help my nephews go to university or buy their first car, but don’t want to fix an amount of money they may need in my Will’
‘My daughter has a learning disability, so I want people I can rely on to manage her money’
There are many reasons why including a Discretionary Trust in your Will can help your loved ones.
Flexibility
Asset Protection
Ability to respond to changing circumstances
Providing for multiple generations
Protection of vulnerable or young beneficiaries
Inheritance Tax planning
Vulnerable Persons Trust
Protecting Disabled Children and Adults in your Will
Alex has Downs Syndrome. His parents want to make Wills but are not sure what to do.
What option would you choose?
Option 1.
Write a Will and leave it all to Alex
John’s parents are relying on his sister to look after John for the whole of his life. What if…
She gets into debt
Spends the money
Gets divorced
Dies or becomes incapacitated
This has several risks!
Option 2.
Write a Will a divide everything between Alex and his sister
John receives his share but can’t manage his money.
John is at risk of being exploited by others.
Means-tested benefits and care funding will be stopped if they exceed personal allowances.
Personal support that is relied upon may be stopped.
A court order will be needed to manage John’s money.
Inheriting money directly can cause major problems for vulnerable beneficiaries.
Option 3.
Include a Vulnerable persons Trust in the Will.
John’s parents choose people they trust to act as Trustees.
Trustees will protect the Trust Fund and decide how to use it.
John’s benefits and support can continue. Money held on Trust is not included in meanstesting assessments.
The need for a court order may be avoided as Trustees will look after the trust fund.
A Vulnerable Person’s Trust offers many safeguards that can give you peace of mind.