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You may ask “What is a Trust Corporation?”.
A Trust Corporation is a legal body that provides help
and advice to families and loved ones where a death
occurs and there is a need for professional services in
the administration of the estate. Typically this will be
where a trust has to be created under the terms of a
Will or under intestacy and the Trust Corporation will
provide ongoing support and management services for the
trustees.
How the Trust Corporation can help is listed in more
detail under Executorship and Trustee Services below, or
you can download our booklet
here
on Executorship and Administration Services.
What if there is no Will?
Dying without a Will or Intestate to give it the
official title, can cause severe problems for those left
behind. It will possibly delay the issue of the Grant of
Letters of Administration (the intestacy equivalent of a
Grant of Probate) because there are no appointed
executors to act, so either family members or friends
may have to apply to the court to act in the
administration of the estate.
Intestacy also brings its owns problems, it may leave
the family short of money as assets are tied up in the
wrong place in accordance with the strict rules of
Intestacy distribution. There may also be problems with
ownership and title to the matrimonial or family home.
The SWW Trust Corporation can help in these
circumstances by acting as the deceased's Personal
Representatives. The Trust Corporation will make the
necessary application to the Court and obtain the Grant
of Letters of Administration, gather in the estate and
ensure that the surviving spouse or civil partner
receives their entitlement. We would be able to advise
the surviving spouse or civil partner if a claim against
the estate would be prudent if the intestacy has failed
to make adequate provision for him or her.
What if the Will is very old?
It is often quoted that the only things certain in this
life are death and taxes, unfortunately both are
becoming more and more complicated. A Will written only
eight to ten years ago is unlikely to take account of
the current tax regime (the current inheritance tax
threshold is £325,000) - 45% of homeowners in the South
East of England are now caught by Inheritance Tax (IHT),
or the more complex family relationships - 43% of
marriages end in divorce, or simply that we are living
longer and the State and Local Authority will need to
take more to cover the cost of our care in old age.
If the deceased died leaving an old or very simple
Will, we can often help in many of these circumstances
by writing what is called a Post Death Variation. This
means that we can rewrite that portion of the Will after
death to ‘rectify’ or put right the parts that are wrong
or to add a trust or sever a beneficial joint tenancy to
tenants in common to help with tax savings especially
Inheritance Tax. Even if the IHT previously assessed has
been paid and the estate distributed a Variation can
still be effective. In such cases a refund of IHT will
be made and assets redirected to the new beneficiaries.
Again though nothing is simple, in order for an
Arrangement to work there are several rules to observe,
the three most important are:
v
That the Deed has to completed within two years of the
death; and
v
That everyone who will be affected by the change have to
agree to the changes; and
v
There will be problems where minors (persons under 18)
are affected by the changes, and have to give their
consent.
But if you find your self in this position, and you
have been left with a large tax bill or other
complications contact us NOW - do not leave it until
later - and we will advise you if and how we can help.
Wills and Trusts
If you have had the foresight to make a Will,
congratulations but you are still in the minority. It
may be that your Will, if made recently will contain one
or more Trusts, it is almost certain that the executors
and Trustees named will be your spouse or partner
together with the children (the main beneficiaries after
the death of the survivor) or other family members, you
may be surprised as to how many people appoint their
parents as executors!
Today with Trusts and estates becoming ever more
complicated it would be sensible to appoint a
professional such as SWW Trust Corporation to work
either in a sole capacity, that is handling everything
or to work jointly with the family. Some trusts may be
required to run for many years, again appointing a
professional organisation will ensure continuity in the
management of such funds and where a disabled
beneficiary is involved this may of prime concern.
If at this stage in your planning you feel that your
appointed representatives are sufficient consider making
the SWW Trust Corporation a substitute (or reserve)
executor and trustee. Should one of your nominated
executors die before you or be unable to act then the
Trust Corporation can stand in their place alongside the
surviving executors. Alternatively the appointment can
be worded so that the SWW Trust Corporation will only
act if all the named executors fail to act.
One final alternative is to include in your will a
direction that authorises your executors to consult the
SWW Trust Corporation should they feel they need
professional help in the administration of your estate.
Your executors will have access to first class
experienced professional help and advice at very
competitive rates that will be agreed with them at that
time. Thus they will only pay for work or services that
the Trust Corporation actually carries out and they will
retain control of the situation.
Summary
So whether you have been recently bereaved or just
looking to better plan for the future, the SWW Trust
Corporation can help. Through our association with the
Society of Will Writers we can advise also how to go
about making a Will using a Society member in your area,
thereby preventing all the problems of dying Intestate.
A few hundred pounds spent now will save tens of
thousands of pounds in unnecessary tax and unnecessary
costs to your family and ease the emotional stress that
death places on those loved ones left behind.
If you are a professional, a Will Writer, Financial
Adviser, Mortgage Broker or solicitor who does not offer
a probate service and would like more information,
please see the relevant pages and request an Introducers
Pack, and let us show you how you can help your clients.
My
sisters never did their share of caring for our mum
before she died and now there is hostility over her
Will.
This is a letter that was written to
Dr Tanya Byron in The Times October 7 2008, and the
circumstances surrounding the daughter are typical –
this is by no means a one-off ‘family affair’.
My mother died in 2004 leaving my brother and me as
executors of her will. I am the eldest of four and I
have two younger sisters. Before my mum died she was in
hospital for six months after a minor operation that
went tragically wrong. When she was discharged she was
practically paralysed from the waist up and I had to
organize round-the-clock care. My two younger sisters
often refused to take their turn in looking after her
and from then on there has been constant disagreement.
When my mum died I organised the funeral and made sure
everyone was able to contribute to it.
Since then, however, despite ensuring that all matters
relating to the estate are available to all, every
decision I try to make is belittled and questioned, even
though I do not have all the answers as the solicitor
still deals with some aspects. It got to the point where
rude texts were being circulated. Anger is rarely
directly towards with my brother, it is mostly
about me. One sister even involves my niece and nephew,
who are rude to me but not my brother. After one
particularly nasty incident I did not speak to this
sister for six months. Several weeks ago my husband
suggested I call her and ask to come to her house to
discuss the situation. She phoned back to say that she
didn’t want me to come over, but that she would come to
me. I decided not to go ahead as I believe that she
should be open about where the meeting should be.
Anne (not her real name) signed the letter off by asking
“for suggestions on how to close this increasing chasm
in our family”
I know from personal experience the problems that a Will
or intestacy can cause within families and the chasm or
rift can be impossible to close. My own mother and her
sister, my Aunt, did not speak or make contact for over
twenty years after the death of their mother and the
distribution of her personal effects. My mother died not
having seen her sister for all that time and although my
sister invited her to mum’s funeral she refused having
during that twenty years lost her own husband and only
child!
BWM
Managing Director SWW Trust Corporation
Where the matter of probate is concerned, it has
to be better in many cases to appoint a professional
organisation that are far removed from family disputes
and squabbles and will simply distribute the estate
according to the Will or the intestacy rules without
fear or favour. What price can you
put on family relationships?
If you have such a situation or a parent has died and
you are left with all the problems, and you do not know
how to deal it, call us now, our freephone is at the top
of this page – it won’t be as expensive as you think in
fact it could save the family.
SWW Trust Corporation specialises in
administering contentious and intestate estates, as well
as Will led estates and hand-holding families through
the maze of probate and estate administration. |
