Careful tax and financial planning is an essential part of any effective wealth management strategy. By taking the right steps to manage your assets you can make sure your assets continue to benefit the right people, and that you and your family don’t pay more tax than necessary. Of course this is may be all the more important if you have business assets or assets in other countries.
A trust is a legal arrangement established so that named persons – ‘trustees’ - can look after and deal with assets for the benefit of named beneficiaries. Our private client solicitors work with clients to advise on all aspects of trusts, from when and where they might be effective through to their creation, management and winding up.
What they say
"A prompt, professional and efficient service from the firm as a whole. This gave me confidence when referring further clients to the firm."
Legal 500 UK 2022
What our private client lawyers do
Trusts
Our services include:
- The creation, management or winding up of trusts
- The appointment or other changes of trustees.
- Acting as trustees, in order to ensure that our clients’ wishes are carried out as they would have wished
- A trust administration service, including the preparation of accounts and the filing of tax returns.
Future Asset Planning
Depending upon the complexity of your affairs, we can call upon and combine DMH Stallard’s considerable expertise across a range of specialist areas.
This may include:
- Wills
- Varying an inheritance,
- Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs),
- Trust creation/administration,
- Inheritance tax and capital gains tax mitigation
How our private client lawyers work
Trusts
Trusts can be established during your lifetime or may be created within a Will.
The trust document sets out the obligations of the trustees and the way in which they are to exercise their powers for the benefit of those named as beneficiaries.
We work closely with our clients to identify when trusts may be a useful legal tool, in circumstances including:
- The co-ownership of property
- Managing gifts to young people or adults who are unable to manage their own affairs
- Minimising (or avoiding) a charge to Inheritance tax
- Deferring the payment of Capital Gains Tax
- Making special provision for adults or children with special requirements due to mental or physical disability
- Receiving death in service benefits or lump sums from insurance policies/pension funds
- Protecting family wealth
- Following a Personal Injury Settlement
Future Asset Planning
Estate planning is an exercise which requires both expert legal skills and a close knowledge of the client's family and business arrangements.
For this reason, we take the time to get to know our clients, to understand the issues that matter to them and to work closely with them in planning for their and their family's futures.
How we've helped
DMH Stallard advised and prepared a detailed financial planning report for clients who had business interests worldwide (including Australia and Hong Kong) and personal assets in the UK and abroad (properties in UK, France, Germany). This involved providing detailed advice on their tax position and international succession issues; reviewing and preparing new Wills; working with our corporate department to review and prepare new Articles of Association in respect of the company; working alongside our commercial property team to prepare a lease for their business premises; writing a life policy into trust; and preparing Lasting Powers of Attorneys.