Inheritance Trusts – What they are and when to use them
Writing your last Will & Testament is the most important document you are likely to draft. Deciding and detailing how you wish your estate to be divided up amongst your friends and relatives can be a daunting task, however, proper guidance and advice from an experienced Will writing company can be very beneficial.
Many people when writing their Will tend to seek advice from a close family member such as their spouse or one or more of their children. From a personal point of view, this may appear to be a logical choice. On the other hand, seeking advice from those who are likely to also be beneficiaries could result in the testator being talked out of leaving such a large sum to the Battersea Dogs Home, for example.
Discussing your last Will & Testament with a professional Will writer ensures that the advice given to you when drafting your Will is impartial and unbiased. Also, the information and guidance given will far supersede that of an inexperienced family member or close friend. For example, it may be preferable for certain beneficiaries to receive their inheritance via a trust rather than in a lump sum.
We’ve provided a few hypothetical examples where a trust in your will would be a far better option than simply leaving a lump sum.
Example one – A man wants to leave all of his estate to his second wife, however when she dies, he wants the children from his first marriage to each receive a fair share of his estate. However his second wife has never been close to his children and may not wish to leave anything to the fruits of her husband’s first marriage. In order to ensure his wishes are carried out after his death, leaving either some or all of the estate in a trust is possibly the best option.
Example two – A lady wishes to leave her entire estate, divided equally, between her three adult children, however one of them has a gambling problem. She feels it would be unwise to leave that child such a large sum for fear of it all being placed on a 100:1 rank outsider in the Grand National! So, in order to ensure all her children receive the same share of her estate, setting up a trust will release the cash bit by bit and thus ensuring her son with a gambling problem cannot blow it all on the horses.
Example three – A man wishes to leave everything to his three children, however one of them is severely disabled and receives essential help from the state for their day to day living needs. Leaving a large sum of money could jeopardise the state care & benefits that person receives, so setting up a trust in ones Will would ensure that their benefits remain unaffected as the inheritance would be received bit by bit.
These are just a few examples showing where a trust in a Will would be more useful to the beneficiary, rather than them simply receiving a lump sum. However getting the details and more importantly the wording right really does require the help of an experienced Will writer.
Trust Inheritance has almost twenty years experience helping thousands of people throughout the UK with writing a Will. For more details contact them direct on 08000 97 80 12 or visit http://www.trustinheritance.co.uk.