Written By: Colm Wolstencroft
Trust funds have entered the modern lexicon as a byword for rich children who will never have to work a day in their lives, and while this view is misguided it dies illuminate the lack of knowledge surrounding trust funds. A trust fund is at its centre a legal arrangement whereby an individual (the settlor) places some form of assets into the hands of another individual (the trustee) so that they may manage them on the behalf of another individual (the beneficiary).
Written By: Colm Wolstencroft
Trusts and Wills may seem like completely different things, but they are actually both ways of transferring assets for m one person to another. There are a number of key differences between the two things, the first and most obvious being that a Will is a legal document while a Trust is a legal arrangement.
Written By: Colm Wolstencroft
Solicitors are those professionals who have an above average knowledge of theoretical law due to years of study, as well as an above average grasp of its practical applications due to years of work. Trust funds are just one area where an individual may think that having a solicitor overseeing matters is a good idea.
Written By: Mark Harris
Inheritance tax is payable on a person’s estate after they have died. It is payable at 40% on all estates worth more than £325000. Estates worth less than this do not have to worry about paying any inheritance tax. The executors of a Will have the responsibility for ensuring inheritance tax is paid, even where none is owed they must prepare a tax return to demonstrate this.
Written By: Mark Harris
Probate is the process of administering and redistributing the assets and property of a person who has died. This will either be done according to the instructions laid out in a Will or by following the intestacy rules, if there is no Will.
Written By: Colm Wolstencroft
A Trust is the legal process whereby an arrangement is made to make one or more persons legally responsible for some collection of assets. These assets can be anything that is considered to be of value such as cash, property, land or priceless heirlooms, and are placed in the Trust so that they can be used to the benefit whoever the beneficiaries of the trust happens to be.