Trust Wills Explained

Trust Wills are legal ways to further increase the protection of assets that are left to others in a testator's will. A Trust is a legal structure which can be included as part of your will and can offer increased asset protection for your loved ones. These types of trusts allow people to protect their estate from potential care fees in later years, to secure gifts and inheritance for children from previous relationships and for those who want to leave assets to a vulnerable or disabled person.

The following article explains trust wills more thoroughly, including how they work, the type of trust wills that are available and their benefits.

How Do Trust Wills Work?

When a person makes a will they become known as a testator, and they usually name the people that they would like to receive assets and shares of their estate when they die. The recipients of assets are referred to as beneficiaries. In some cases, a testator may not want their estate to be given directly to a beneficiary when they die, instead choosing it to be held on their behalf in specific ways.

Trustees are those people who are responsible for holding and managing the assets on behalf of the beneficiary. The trustees will be named in the will and are people that are relied upon to maintain the best interests of the beneficiary at all times.

Types of Trust Wills

There are a few different types of trust will options that can be used depending upon the circumstances that they are to be applied. Here are the most common options:

Property Trust Wills

Property trust wills are also known as a protective property trust. This type of trust will offers additional security for testators who own property and want to secure its best value for future generations. There are a number of benefits to using a Property Trust Will including:

The guarantee of who will benefit from a share in any owned property if the testator's partner remarries after the testator's death or writes a new will after the death which does not observe the original wishes
Reducing the possible effect that residential care home fees can have on the value of the property

There are a number of people who can benefit from a property trust will, including:

• People who own a property with another person, including those who are married, unmarried and with and without children
• People who want to secure the protection of the value of the property for the benefit of relatives and beneficiaries in the future
• Those who want to protect the value of the property against the risk of possible care fees in the future.

Flexible Life Interest Trust Wills

Flexible life interest trust wills are used by people who have large value assets such as properties and investments, where protection of the value is sought for future generations. This type of trust will guarantees who will benefit from cash assets, property and investments if the testator's partner remarries after their death, creates a new will which changes the original wishes or authorises a nominated person to receive an income which is generated from the investment following the death of the testator.

Various people can benefit from a flexible life interest trust will, particularly those who have cash assets or investments in their name only and they wish to ensure the care of a nominated person while protecting the capital value of an investment for the benefit of specified individuals in the future.

Discretionary Trust Wills

A discretionary trust will provides a testator with the opportunity to appoint a trustee to manage the benefits left to loved ones who are vulnerable or unable to manage inheritance independently.

This type of trust will means that the testator can rest assured that any vulnerable beneficiary receives assistance and support when managing assets that they inherit and reduces the risk of state benefits being reduced by the receipt of the inheritance.