Are you looking to protect assets?
Need help with wealth planning?
Do you want to minimise your tax liabilities?
If yes, then Trusts can be the vehicle for you.
If, however, the Trust has already been created and you are a trustee, what happens next?
We can assist trustees by ensuring a Trust is compliant from the start and can manage it on your behalf, preparing all the necessary documents and revising them.
Trustees have numerous duties and responsibilities, so we recommend individuals ensure they know all that is involved before they agree to the role.
If you are confident in being a trustee, here is a list of things to be done:
- Ensure the Trust is listed on the Trust Register. (For more information on Trust Registration, please click here).
- Familiarise yourself with the type and terms of the Trust you will be responsible for.
- Diarise key dates (e.g. dates of HMRC reporting and any deadlines for Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax).
- Check Trust assets have properly been transferred and are adequately marked separate from the trustees’ personal assets.
- Take proper professional legal and tax advice about the structure of the trust. (Fees are paid from trust assets but protect trustees if they follow the advice).
- Create an Investment Policy Statement (IPS), review it regularly, and monitor the investment advisers’ performance against it and the other benchmarkers.
- Prepare annual accounts and file tax returns as and when required.
- Meet at least once a year, (more for larger trusts) to discuss progress, performance, and any distributions. Appropriate minutes must be recorded, as well as resolutions for any decisions made.
- Consider any distributions from capital or income, taking into consideration the beneficiary, personal circumstances, tax, any Letter of Wishes, and any other relevant factors.
- Document any distributions, usually by a Deed of Advancement or Deed of Appointment, stating the trustees’ intention, whether the transaction is reversible, and who is responsible for any tax consequences.
Advice is crucial.
Eight International Tax & Legacy Experts assist trustees by ensuring a Trust is compliant from the start. We can manage the Trust on your behalf, ensuring all the necessary documents are prepared and revised.
Trustees are entitled to use trust funds to pay for advice, so usually appointing a professional to manage trust is a preferred option to give peace of mind.
For further information contact us…
