Sometimes when advising a client on their Estate Planning, we come across a situation where there are several beneficiaries, of whom some need to be treated differently to the others. In this case our client had nine beneficiaries, all with differing circumstances. This included three who are on means tested benefits.
Had out client simply made an outright gift of the estate via their Will, all nine would have received a lump sum at the same time when our client passed away. This would have meant that the three beneficiaries on benefits would have lost them, something our client was keen to avoid.
Following our advice our client chose to have a Trust set up to manage this area of their Estate and appointed us as Trustees. When our client passed away the six beneficiaries not on benefits all inherited their share in one lump sum each. For the remaining three we have been able to make annual payments from their shares ensuring that they get to keep their benefits, as our client wished.
Additionally, one of these beneficiaries was in full time further education. As Trustees, we were able to buy them a bed, a laptop and other items for their studies out of their share. We also paid off a number of formal debts for this beneficiary, allowing them to progress their education with fewer worries.
All three of the beneficiaries whose inheritance is managed by the Trustees have maximised their share of the Estate without detriment to their lifestyle.
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