Safeguard your loved one’s inheritance

The person who wants to draft a Will is called a Settlor To prepare a Will, Settlors must have full mental capacity, be over the age of 18 and willing to register a will by their own decision and not because of outside influences.

An estate is the collective sum and value of an individual’s assets. These assets include properties, personal possessions, money and even family heirlooms that are left by the owner after they have passed away. When writing a Will, it is important to specify how the Settlor wants their estate to be managed by your Executors, as well as state what items or assets will be left to your Beneficiaries.

A Trustee is someone chosen by a Settlor to safeguard their estate and control all assets placed into it. If a Trust is included within a Will, the Settlor’s Executors will manage the Will while their chosen Trustees will protect the Trust assets in the best interest of the Settlor and their Beneficiaries.

When choosing a Trustee, Settlor should always choose someone they trust to act in their best interest,  has full mental capacity, be over the age of 18 and well-informed about what duties they are required to carry out.

A Beneficiary is someone who is eligible to receive some form of inheritance from a Settlor’s estate after being named in their Will. Beneficiaries can be chosen from anyone the Settlor wants to give their estate to, with the most common choices being their children, grandchildren, siblings or even charitable organisations.

While Beneficiaries can be chosen regardless of their age, a Settlor can decide when a Beneficiary under the age of 18 can access their inheritance. If this decision is made, a child named as a Beneficiary will have their inheritance placed into a Trust and managed by Trustees named in the Will.

Depending on the type of Trust Will being used, a Trust can start immediately after being signed if an LPPT is being used or after the Settlor’s death and all assets within their estate have been administered. At either point, full control of the Settlor’s estate is then transferred to their chosen Trustees.

Trust Wills are an excellent method of protecting a Settlor’s share of a property for their Beneficiaries in the event that they die but their partner remarries. Should the surviving partner remarry, the deceased’s share of the property is placed into a Trust and cannot be accessed by anyone except the Beneficiary once the surviving partner passes away too.

• Discretionary Trust Wills can be a great way of preserving inheritance for Beneficiaries who are too young or irresponsible to immediately receive valuable assets, using Trustees to restrict access until the Beneficiaries are old enough or financially responsible enough to access their inheritance.
• Lifetime Property Protection Trusts are similarly useful as they can protect a Settlor’s property and financial assets placed into a Trust from outside interference that can reduce the inheritance that Beneficiaries are entitled to. From the moment that the Trust is signed, a Settlor’s assets can still be used throughout their lifetime while they are simultaneously protected from unexpected costs and fees.

A Settlor can choose to revoke their Trust Will at any time,as long as the original Trust document allows this outcome. If not, then the Settlor must receive court approval to revoke the Trust, showing evidence that the Trust was registered due to: 

• External influences such as Beneficiaries or Trustees.
• A mistake on the part of the Settlor, either that they didn’t know what they were signing up for or that they lacked the mental capacity to sign. 
• Fraudulent behaviour, either from the Settlor or their Trustees.
• If the court rules that any of these factors influenced the creation of the Trust, then the document is declared null and void.

Trust Wills are very important legal documents that need to be crystal clear in their wording and breakdown of Trustee nominations, assets placed within the Trust and chosen Beneficiaries. Because of this, it is highly recommended that those interested should seek professional advice from solicitors to make sure that their Trusts are ironclad documents immune to manipulation or interpretation.