Trusts and Inheritance Planning
Our specialist estate planning solicitors can help you protect and manage your assets now and for the future.
Call us on 01284 701131
Our Estate Planning Solicitors are ready to help
If you feel confused by trusts, we can advise you on which ones are the best option for you and whether they need to form part of your Will.
Within our team, we have highly experienced estate planning solicitors, including Henrietta Brett, who is internationally recognised by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) as a solicitor with specialist expertise in this area.
To book a free initial consultation, please either contact us using the form or call us on 01284 701131
In submitting your details, you accept that your data will be held for the purpose of this enquiry and in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Why are trusts useful?
It is an important question. A trust is a legal arrangement for managing assets – for you, your family, or anyone else you would like to benefit.
In a trust, assets are held by one person or people for the benefit of another person or people. Trusts can be created during your lifetime or by your Will, and can be used:
- To protect and control family assets
- When someone is too young to handle assets
- When someone lacks capacity to handle their assets
- When someone receives compensation from a personal injury claim
- To hand over assets while you are alive to protect them for future generations
- To hand over assets when you die to ensure they pass on to the people you choose
- Under the intestacy rules that apply if someone dies without a Will
- As part of inheritance tax planning
Understanding how trusts work
To realise how trusts work, it is important to understand the role of the Settlor, the Trustees and the Beneficiaries.
The Settlor is the person who signs the Trust Deed, which sets out how the trust will work, and they create the trust by transferring assets to the trustees. The Trustees are the legal owners of the assets in the trust, and they deal with the assets and manage the trust, but they hold the assets for the beneficiaries who benefit from the trust.
Types of Trusts
There are different types of trust depending on how you want to control your assets.
- Bare Trust – this is the simplest type of trust, and the trustee simply holds an asset for a beneficiary who becomes entitled to the asset as soon as they reach the age of 18.
- Interest In Possession Trust – also called a life interest trust. Under this type of trust the beneficiary is entitled to the income from the assets in the trust, but the capital is passed to other beneficiaries when the life interest comes to an end.
- Discretionary Trust – the trustees can decide which of the beneficiaries receives income and/or capital from the trust.
Helping you decide what is best
Our estate planning solicitors are experienced in all aspects of trusts and can offer practical, tax-efficient advice on the best type of trust for your needs. They can also prepare a Trust Deed or Will to help you protect and manage your assets.
Call 01284 701131 to book an appointment.
Related news & insights 
Walking for Access to Justice
Once again, we’re delighted to say that Burnett Barker Solicitors will be participating in The Cambridge Legal Walk organised by The Access to Justice Foundation. Our fundraising team will walk 10k on Thursday 15th June 2023, setting off from Cambridge Backs along Queen’s Road at 5.30 pm and returning around 7.30 pm at Anglia Ruskin […]
When should you use a Probate Solicitor?
Deciding whether you need a probate solicitor largely depends on your individual circumstances. For example, if the deceased person had a small amount of money and owned little else, the process is much simpler, and you may be able to administer the estate yourself. If, however, the deceased person owned a property in their sole […]
Resolution Specialist Accreditation Re-awarded to Head of Family Law, Joanne Matthews
Joanne Matthews, Burnett Barker Solicitors’ Head of Family Law, has been reaccredited by Resolution, the national organisation of family lawyers committed to taking a non-confrontational approach to divorce, separation and other family matters. If you are unfamiliar with Resolution, please let us explain what it is and why Joanne’s continued accreditation means so much. Resolution […]
Don’t make writing a Will the last thing on your list
According to findings from the IRN’s biennial UK Wills & Probate Consumer Research Report, just 35% of adults surveyed have got round to making a Will. When asked why they have not yet written one, ‘I haven’t got round to it’ was cited as the most common answer. Sadly, this is not surprising as there […]
Meet Trainee Solicitor, Frankie Priestley
We thought we’d take the opportunity to catch up with one of our Trainee Solicitors, Frankie Priestley, who stepped into her new role on 3rd January 2023. We explore her motivations for becoming a solicitor, her typical day, how she balances her studies, and what she enjoys the most about her new role. What prompted […]
‘Remember a Charity in Your Will’ Week
Once again, we’ll join our friends at Our Bury St Edmunds in celebrating everything our local business community has to offer during Independents Week (4 – 10 July 2022).
