What Is A Trust And What Is The Trust Registration Service?
“What is a Trust and what is the Trust Registration Service (“TRS”)?” Wills and Probate Solicitor, Charlotte Day discusses in her latest Timms blog…
What Is A Trust?
Trusts are legal entities that hold assets for your named Beneficiaries.
You appoint trustees who are responsible for holding and managing the assets in the trust for the benefit of the Beneficiaries. Trusts must be administered correctly and often run like a business as they require tax returns to be submitted to HMRC and trustee meetings to take place.
What Are Trusts For?
Will trusts can be used to ensure that your assets are held for your chosen Beneficiaries. Trusts are often used as a way of retaining some control of assets “beyond the grave” through the powers conferred on your trustees who may be using your previously prepared letter of wishes to carry out (though at their discretion) whatever your wishes are.
There are many different types of Will Trusts, depending on what you hope to achieve and who you wish to provide for. For example, Discretionary Trusts, Life Interest Trusts, 18-25 Trusts, Disabled Persons trusts and Bereaved Minor’s Trusts.
What Is The Trusts Registration Service?
HMRC have created an online system called “TRS” to ensure that they have details of all the trusts in the UK (unless they are exempt from registration). HMRC want to know things like who set up the trust, who trustees are, who the beneficiaries are and what assets are in the trust.
This means that all trusts that were in existence on 6 October 2020 will need to be registered on TRS, with some limited exclusions.
If you have any questions regarding Wills, trusts or Probate Matters, please do not hesitate to contact me at c.day@timms-law.com or via phone on 01530 564498. Alternatively, you can visit the Wills and Probate page of our website here.
January 2022