Trusts and Trust Administration
Use of Trusts
Trusts remain an especially useful estate planning tool, if set up and managed properly. We assist you in the administration of trusts from structuring and formation to auditing and taxation of family and business trusts.
The unique feature of a trust is the separation of legal and beneficial ownership. This means that different legal personae hold the legal obligation to manage assets to those who are entitled to benefit from the assets. It is this unique feature that many financial intermediaries and their clients overlook, but which gives rise to the benefits that can facilitate a customer’s estate planning and succession wishes.
Benefits of Trusts
Whilst trusts offer estate duty saving achieved by transferring growth assets to a trust, this potential benefit should never be considered apart from the other tax and non-tax advantages of trusts. The most significant non-tax benefits include the following: The trust’s assets are protected from creditors of the trustees and the beneficiaries, as well as the administrative procedures (freezing of accounts, and so on) and costs, such as executor’s fees, incurred at death. A discretionary trust caters for flexibility in a way that no other legal entity can. The trustees decide what and how much to distribute to beneficiaries. Indeed, trust assets can be vested in a beneficiary or applied for his benefit, without actually being distributed to him. Furthermore, whereas the details of one’s deceased estate appear in the liquidation and distribution account which is filed at the Master’s Office, a trust’s financial affairs are never made publicly available. Many clients want to know that a competent board of trustees will continue to manage family assets when they are not around. In this way, family members who may not be able or interested in financial matters, can be taken care of.
However, having determined that a trust is appropriate for you, we ensure that the deed is drafted by our specialist and with your specific requirements and circumstances in mind.