How Living Trusts support a family through time and disability.

Careful planning, and the use of Living Trusts, have been benefitting three generations of the same family for nearly ten years. Our clients each set up an Asset Protection Trust (APT) in 2016 to protect their property for their children. They also wanted to ensure that their beneficiaries will only benefit at a time at appropriate for them. These Trusts began protecting their assets immediately and allow for discretionary oversight by the Trustees. We have been acting as Professional Trustees for both Trusts ever since.

In this case our clients had previously experienced a terrible time dealing with their Parents’ Probate and managing the Estate Administration. Their prime driver in setting up their APTs was to protect their children from the same experience. This is one of the key benefits provided by an Asset Protection Trust. By appointing us as Trustees and including the discretionary element they were reassured that we would be able to distribute their Estate in accordance with the wishes that they documented, protecting their loved ones.

A lot has changed over the past nine years, none of which could be foreseen. One of the children has married and now has a child of her own. Both her husband and child have life-long disabilities. As Trustees we are able to protect the inheritance and ensure no means tested benefits that the child receives are affected. This is achieved by using the funds appropriately for their benefit. This is one of the main benefits of an APT and ensures they receive the full benefit of the Trust.

More recently our clients health has deteriorated, and they have had to go into residential care. As Trustees for nine years, we were able to defend the family home from a challenge of ‘deliberate deprivation of assets’ raised by the local authority at this time. This has secured the property in the Trust, ready to be passed on when the time comes. We will oversee the Trust until our clients pass away and then take on the distribution of the inheritance with their wishes in mind, and in consideration of their grandchild’s disabilities.

Although powerful documents, neither a Will nor a Will Trust would have provided this level of protection, leaving everything our clients worked hard for vulnerable.