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The benefit of long term asset protection

Firstly, it's a long term asset protection for your children and grandchildren, and possibly great-grandchildren. It's protection against the five main problems, which are outlined in previous blogposts. You get the long term protection because, from the date of inception, the trust lasts 125 years and therefore will outlive your children and your grandchildren. Single people will most likely leave at least 500,000, sometimes more depending upon the value of their main residence, to the trust. Married couples will potentially leave a million pounds and more to the trust  depending upon when they die.  

The trusts are set up during your life time straight away and registered with HMRC. The current rules will apply as opposed to Will Trusts where the rules that apply are when the person dies.

The benefit of significant tax saving

Married couples can save significant inheritance tax depending upon the value of their main residence. They can also protect one residential Nil Rate Band, which would result in the saving of around 70,000pounds and married couples with children from a previous relationship can ensure that their own assets are passed to their own children. If that's what they want to happen.

Other benefits

Other benefits include direct allocation of some of your assets to grandchildren's trusts if required. Rather than leaving everything to your children, if you want to leave something directly to your grandchildren on the second death of a married couple or your death, if you're single or widowed, then you can do so.

The main benefit, however, is that it is immediately effective once it's signed - there is no seven year waiting period. For people with high value main resistances and the inheritance tax savings that are result from that, it's worth putting this in as soon as possible.

How long does it take to set up a comprehensive estate planning?

A comprehensive estate planning like this can take up to three months to set up and register with HMRC and, if we're splitting the tenancy of a property, with the land registry. As a result, we usually do this planning first when we're dealing with our clients as soon as they decide to move forward and implement the plans. The benefits, especially for married couples, significantly outstrip any cost of setting such plans up, and they do give people the security of mind knowing that irrelevant of when they die their assets are protected for their family in the long term.