Family Trusts and Asset Protection

Family Trusts and Asset Protection

Family Trusts are a time proven method of protecting assets and income from life’s challenges.  We can help you maximise the benefits of trust operation and assist in the correct management of the trusts.

A trust might be useful for almost anyone if you want to protect your assets. Establishing a trust has the effect of creating a separate legal person (the trust). By legally transferring assets to that trust many of the threats to your assets are extinguished or minimised.

How Trusts work

A trust protects you in the following way:

• Any business or personal liability you may attract will not attach to your trust which will not have (usually) been involved in your business or personal risks.
• Often, Social Welfare means tests are personal to you, and the trust assets are generally not taken into account.
• If estate (or death) duty is re-introduced, under present rules, assets in the trust will not be counted as personal to you in assessing if duty is payable.
• You are able to control your assets in the event that you should die. This extends to new relationships of a partner surviving you, and to partners of your children.

Estate Planning

Your Trust deed, or separate written instructions can record your future wishes that can still be effective beyond your own death. However a trust is only one element of a sensible estate plan. Talk to Dawsons to receive advise on all aspects of estate planning and trusts.