1. What is a Discretionary Trust Will
A Discretionary Trust is part of a Will that allows you to preserve property and financial assets from your estate within a trust to be managed by someone you trust.
2. How does a Discretionary Trust Will work?
When preparing a will, discretionary trusts allow you to leave your estate in a trust that can only be accessed by trustees that you have nominated.
To help trustees to act in your best interests, some people will include a letter of wishes written into the Will. This letter should include instructions on your choices for beneficiaries, what they receive and when they can access it. While this letter isn’t legally binding, it still helps trustees to suitably respect your final wishes.
Upon your passing, your chosen trustees are given control of your estate and use your instructions to choose beneficiaries and allocate their inheritance at their own discretion, hence the name Discretionary Trusts.
3. How much does it cost to make a Discretionary Trust Will?
Preparing a Discretionary Trust Will with Zen Legal will cost:
- Single Will – £389
- Married Couple Will – £689
Our main priority is to support you to get the protection in place for your legacy.
4. Why are Discretionary Trusts Wills important?
Once your assets are placed into an estate, your trustees have complete control over the managing of inheritance for your beneficiaries. By leaving someone you trust in charge of your estate, you can prevent:
- Beneficiaries from wasting their inheritance to vices or bad habits.
- Easy access from beneficiaries that are either too young or irresponsible to receive large amounts of inheritance.
- Third-parties from influencing how your beneficiaries spend their inheritance if given a lump-sum.
The power of having someone to make sure that your estate is benefitting your loved ones without being wasted is a big part of why Discretionary Trusts are such a valuable tool.
5. Can Trustees restrict inheritance?
You can specify in your Letter of Wishes that you have certain conditions or milestones that your beneficiaries must meet before receiving inheritance e.g. Putting down a deposit for a house, graduating university, beating a drug addiction.
Similarly, you can also request that your trustees restrict the inheritance that can be accessed by young or irresponsible beneficiaries e.g. grandchildren are given a small monthly allowance to support their living expenses, rather than a single lump-sum.
By including these wishes into your Will, you can help your trustees to act responsibly with the allocation of inheritance in a way that respects your wishes, but also benefits your loved ones.
6. How do I make a Discretionary Trust Will?
A Discretionary Trust is included within a Will and lets you leave your estate, either partially or entirely in a Trust for your trustees to manage.
You should also specify who you want to be a beneficiary, as well as leaving a Letter of Wishes for further instructions on allocating inheritance to each beneficiary.