Trusts

Need to protect your assets or require a Trust as part of your business?

Weston & Associates are experienced in all types of trusts, it’s worth talking to us first to look at your financial structure and assets to see whether you actually need a trust. Or that the one you have is meeting your needs.

Family Trusts

People usually set up a family trust to get some benefit from no longer personally owning an asset. A family trust may be useful to:

Protect selected assets against claims and creditors – for example, to protect a family home from the potential failure of a business venture.
Set aside money for special reasons, such as a child or grandchild’s education.
Ensure our children, not their partners, keep their inheritances.
Manage the risk of unwanted claims on our estate when you die – such as from a former partner.

Other Trusts & Benefits

A Trust can be used to own shares in a Limited Liability Company for tax purposes.
Trading Trusts can be directly traded through.
Trusts can be used to split income amongst beneficiaries for taxation advantages.

Who is Involved?

A Settlor: The person or Company who creates the trust.
Trustees: The people who manage the trust. The settlor can also be a trustee. It’s also a good idea to appoint an independent trustee.
Beneficiaries: The people who benefit from the trust (for example members of your family).

Often there is more than one trustee. There may also be more than one Settlor of a trust.

The Settlor can have the power to appoint and remove trustees. This is an important power that we can also transfer to someone else in your Will.

A trust doesn’t necessarily end with your death – it can last for a maximum of 80 years from inception.