Trust Law Services
Trusts offer an effective way to manage assets as part of a strategic plan to pass on wealth to the next generation. Where vulnerable members of the family are involved, they give peace of mind through financial protection.
Expert legal advice can help to ensure a trust meets your objectives and minimise the risk of disputes.
We can advise on the creation, administration, variation and termination of trusts, both in the UK and abroad. Where appropriate, members of our team can also act as independent professional trustees.
With many years of experience across our team dealing with all aspects of trust law, we can offer seasoned expertise for even the most complicated requirements and high value trust assets.
Our wealth preservation experts can also advise on other wealth holding structures, such as foundations and family investment companies, and will help you decide which is the most appropriate for your particular circumstances.
We are also highly skilled in dealing with all manner of trust disputes.
Our trust law solicitors act for clients across the country and internationally from our offices in London, Cambridge, Reading or Southampton. We can offer a convenient, high quality service in person, over the phone, via email and through video conferencing, fitting around your schedule and commitments.
To discuss how our trust lawyers can help you, please get in touch.
Why choose BDB Pitmans’ trust solicitors?
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1 Independently recognised expertise
Many of our team are members of the Society of Estate and Trust Practitioners (STEP ), the global professional body, comprising lawyers, accountants, financial advisors and other practitioners that help families plan for their futures. Our team is ranked by Chambers and Partners for Private Wealth Law and by the Legal 500 for Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate, providing independent assurance of our leading expertise.
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2 Decades of combined specialist trust experience
Having advised trustees and trust beneficiaries for many years, as well as regularly acting as professional independent trustees, our trust lawyers can confidently advise on even the most niche and challenging issues.
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3 A tailored approach to match your specific requirements
Every situation is different, so it is important to have exactly the right type of trust and the appropriate legal support to match your wealth management goals and the needs of the trust beneficiaries. Our team will work closely with you to fully understand the outcome you want to achieve, then provide personal guidance on the steps you need to take.
How BDB Pitmans’ solicitors can help you?
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1 Setting up trusts
When setting up a trust, there are a lot of issues that must be carefully considered and taken into account. These include what type of trust is going to be most effective for your goals, which assets to place into the trust, who to choose as trustees and exactly what should happen with the trust assets and income.
We can provide expert advice on all of these issues including tax, helping you to establish a trust or multiple trusts on a firm foundation, so you can be confident the trust will be managed effectively and the beneficiaries will see the maximum benefit.
Our trust solicitors can assist with all the different types of trusts, including:
- Family trusts
- Charitable trusts
- Will trusts
- Lifetime trusts
- Property trusts
- Personal injury trusts
- Bare trusts
- Children’s trusts
- Interest in possession trusts (life interest trusts)
- Discretionary trusts
- Nil-rate band discretionary trusts
- Accumulation & maintenance trusts
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2 Advice for trustees
Acting as a trustee is a weighty responsibility and one that must be carried out in accordance with the trust documents and all relevant laws. This can be a daunting task, so it is sensible to seek expert advice to make sure you are discharging your duties in the right way.
We can provide clear, practical advice for trustees on the day-to-day management of a trust and its assets, as well as being ready to step in where more challenging issues arise and high level expertise is required.
Our trust lawyers can advise trustees on issues including:
- Understanding trustees’ duties
- Exercise of trustees’ powers
- Effective management of money and/or assets held in trust
- Acting in beneficiaries’ best interests
- Tax issues (including reporting to HMRC and other tax authorities, as well as payment of income tax, inheritance tax and capital gains tax)
- Dealing with trust disputes
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3 Advice for trust beneficiaries
Being the beneficiary of a trust is not necessarily a passive activity and beneficiaries should, wherever possible, make sure they understand the terms of the trust, their rights or entitlements to the trust assets and income, and what they can do if they are unhappy with the way the trust is being managed.
Our trust law solicitors can assist with matters including:
- Advice on your rights as a beneficiary of a trust
- Managing any benefit you receive from a trust
- Challenging trustees
- Taking control of the assets in a trust where appropriate
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4 Winding up a trust
Trusts may come to a natural end (e.g. where the sole beneficiary has died or has reached an age where they are entitled to the receive the capital and income directly) or they may no longer be capable of serving their intended purpose (e.g. if the trust assets have diminished in value to the point that the trust can no longer serve the intended function).
In either eventuality, it is important that the trust is wound up in the right way, with all trustees and beneficiaries, HMRC and other key parties properly notified. We can guide you through the process of ending a trust, making this as smooth as possible, while ensuring any remaining assets are transferred to the appropriate parties.
Our trust lawyers can assist with matters including:
- Resolutions and deeds for winding up trusts
- Advice on tax liabilities when winding up a trust
- Preparing final trust accounts and tax returns
- Paying any liabilities owed by the trust
- Transferring any remaining trust assets to the appropriate parties
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5 Trust dispute resolution
Trust disputes are often highly complicated and can have serious ramifications for trustees and beneficiaries. In the worst case scenario, the value of the trust can be significantly affected with knock-on effects for its ability to meet the beneficiaries’ needs.
We can provide swift, sensible advice on dealing with trust disputes as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, helping all parties to achieve an outcome that has the best chance of preserving the trust’s value and ensuring it can continue to provide for the beneficiaries.
Our trust dispute resolution solicitors can advise on matters including:
- Disputes between trustees
- Disputes between trust beneficiaries
- Disputes between trustees and trust beneficiaries
- Disputes with HMRC and other tax authorities
Find out more about our trust dispute resolution services.
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6 Independent trustee service
It is often the case that the management of a trust would benefit from the input of an independent trustee and/or someone with an extensive professional understanding of trust law. This can help to make sure the trust is always managed correctly and to the maximum advantage of the beneficiaries.
Members of our team are able to act as professional independent trustees and do so on a regular basis for a wide variety of clients. We can therefore offer extensive experience in the practical management of trusts, along side our exceptional expertise in trust law.
Our trust solicitors can act as professional independent trustees in scenarios including where:
- The trust holds particularly complex assets and professional trust law expertise would be a significant advantage
- A dispassionate, independent perspective is required
- There are not enough suitable people to act as trustees
- An existing trustee has passed away
- An existing trustee has had to be removed due to issues with trust management
Our trust law fees
We offer bespoke trust law advice with particular expertise in trusts holding high value and complex assets, as well as trusts for complicated circumstances. As such, all of our fees are individually tailored to our clients’ requirements.
Speak to our trust solicitors about how we can help you
To discuss how our trust lawyers can help you, please get in touch.