UK Trusts, and their Management and Administration
Expertise
Some of our biggest clients are land owning families and so our knowledge of trusts is second to none.
We advise trustees and beneficiaries on their rights and duties, in trusts of all types and sizes, whether in connection with a simple change of trustees, distributions from a trust during its life, winding up trusts when they are no longer required, or fundamental restructuring of beneficial interests.
The advice covers not just trust law aspects, but also tax, and attendant property and company law issues.
We also advise on the suitability and act in the creation of new trusts.
Our trust managers deal with annual compliance, where necessary preparing trust accounts, tax returns and related tax compliance, the preparation and monitoring of investment policy statements and reporting to trustees on the relative performance of the trust’s investments.
Experience
Our experience in this area includes:
- Acting as a trustee and guiding the other trustees of two trusts holding shares in large private retail companies through a family conflict which was resolved by piloting through a buy-in of own shares by one of the companies
- Acting as trustee and advising the family in connection with a family purchase of an agricultural estate having regard to the rights of non-beneficiary family members unborn beneficiaries and beneficiaries living elsewhere
- Advising the trustees in a major reconstruction of valuable family trusts following the death of a life tenant necessary to restore the position after invalid exercise of trustees powers
- Advising the trustees on the resettlement of a valuable former accumulation and maintenance trust to secure the continuation of the trust, fair treatment of all beneficiaries and reduced exposure to Inheritance tax
- Advising the trustees and beneficiaries of a London property estate on variation of its trusts by Court proceedings
- Advising the beneficiaries of a trust on the termination of a trust by its division according to the interests of each of the interested parties. This involved the Court where minor beneficiaries were involved as well as considerations of taxation and insurance
- Advising a family on a disputed trust that involved dealings in the trust over a thirty-year period in order to prevent very significant assets passing outside the family. This involved Court proceedings to obtain the Court’s approval on behalf of the minor beneficiaries to the negotiated settlement of the dispute and to new trust terms that suited the family for the future
- Advising a beneficiary of numerous trusts, which held land or private company shares relevant to a rural landed estate, on his position as a beneficiary and in relation to the duties of the trustees and the directors of the companies. This led to successful, multiple, proceedings in the Chancery Division of the High Court against the trustees seeking their removal and damages for breach of trust
- Advising on the management and administration of substantial, mid-sized and small family trusts
- Advising the trustees on the substantial restructuring, through the courts of a number of large family trusts in order to protect a profitable family business from a substantial capital gains tax liability
- Advising the trustees to ensure assets held in a number of family trusts remained protected during matrimonial proceedings against a beneficiary
