Changes to AML Regulations in relation to the Trust Registration Scheme

Having been involved in the planning and testing of the Trust Registration Scheme, almost ten years ago, we developed a process to not only manage this for our Trust clients, but also to families with Trusts prepared elsewhere. The TRS, in its current form, is being reformed at the end of June, and we believe in a way which will help many families with smaller Estates.

There will now be a ‘de minimis’ amount which can be held in a Trust before registration becomes a requirement. This will be up to £10,000 in cash, or where a Trust holds other assets, up to £2,000, as long as the income does not exceed £5,000 per year.

The TRS came into force to comply with Anti-Money Laundering legislation, and all Trusts which do not meet the new criteria noted above will still need to be registered.

Of particular interest is that these changes are being rolled out retrospectively, which means families whose Trusts meet the above criteria can choose to deregister their Trust. The benefit of this is that, should there be a change to a registered Trust, the HMRC must be notified within 30 days. This is not the case for unregistered or deregistered Trusts.

Naturally it’s important to understand both the reasons behind the Trust Registration Scheme and the benefits of potentially deregistering. We advise reading up on our Trust Registration Service here and discussing any queries with us. We can be contacted Monday - Friday, 09:00 to 17:00 on 0333 700 2020.