Why write a trust?

If you die without a valid will, or you have a basic mirror will in place, your assets could be exposed to the below risks after first death.

Marriage After Death

Following first death all of your combined assets are then solely owned by the surviving spouse or partner. What if the surviving spouse or partner remarries? The entire combined estate passes to the new spouse, potentially disinheriting your children and grandchildren.

Creditors or Bankruptcy

If the surviving spouse or partner were to be subject to creditor claims or bankruptcy, then the entire combined estate could be at risk.

Care Costs

Should your surviving spouse or partner need care, your entire combined estate, including the family home, could be assessed to pay for the cost of that care.

Following second death, there are further risks to your assets that you want your loved ones to benefit from. These risks could be as follows.

Divorce

If your children or other chosen beneficiaries are subject to divorce proceedings, part of what you intended them to receive is at risk from a divorce settlement.

Creditors or Bankruptcy

If any of your children or other chosen beneficiaries are subject to creditor claims/bankruptcy, the inherited assets are at risk.

Their own future Care Costs

If the inheritance has been passed to your children or other chosen beneficiaries, these assets could later be assessed for their own care costs.

Generational Inheritance Tax IHT

Following second death your remaining assets are likely to be directed by the Will (or via intestacy) to your children or other chosen beneficiaries. This then adds to the beneficiaries’ estates and could impact on their own IHT.

What is the solution?

The great thing to know is that there are solutions available to you in order to reduce or eliminate these risks. All the solutions would involve the use of trusts. There are several options for you to consider before making a decision, all of which will be discussed with you so that you can make a fully informed decision.

Smart Later Life Ltd can offer face to face advice to customers in The Wirral, Chester, North Wales and Liverpool, or remotely to anyone living in England and Wales.

Smart Later Life Ltd can offer wills, lifetime trusts, will trusts and Lasting Powers Of Attorney, and we are based in West Kirby, Wirral.