Hidden benefits of Trusts

Q: Trusts can have multiple benefits, and not simply Inheritance Tax (IHT) benefits.  What are these other benefits?

A: It is probably best to start with what a trust is – it is a framework to hold assets which are held by a body of people called trustees. There are a number of different type of trusts including:-

• Bare trusts – this is where legal control of an asset vests in trustees but for beneficial purposes, the underlying beneficiary is treated as owning the asset. This can often be used for instance for parents or grandchildren wanting to hold assets or property for the benefit of minors who can’t legally hold that asset for themselves.
• Discretionary trusts – these can be set up in lifetime or on death. They are called discretionary because no beneficiary has a fixed entitlement and the trustees have complete discretion to decide what, if any, benefits should be given to each of the beneficiaries. The trustees are given powers of appointment which enable them to pay capital and income to one or more beneficiaries or to create new trusts for the beneficiaries.
• Life interest trusts – again, these can be set up in lifetime or on death in a will. Life interest trusts are so called because they give a particular beneficiary the legal right to receive the income from, or to use property comprised in, the trust. This right normally lasts throughout the beneficiary’s lifetime. Sometimes the right terminates on, for example, the beneficiary’s remarriage or on the death of some other person, but this article deals only with life interests which continue until the beneficiary’s death.

There are other types of trusts including death benefit trusts, personal injury trusts and pension trusts, which we are not covering in this article.

Q: What are the benefits of setting up a Bare Trust?

A: Bare Trusts are the simplest form of trusts and are a halfway house between outright ownership and a full trust.

They can be a useful conduit for lifetime gifts for minors, and any transfer to a Bare Trust requires the transferor to survive 7 years failing which the value of the gift to the Bare Trust is brought into account for the purposes of Inheritance Tax (IHT) on their death.

Bare Trusts need to be registered with HMRC’s Trust Registration Service, like Discretionary or Life Interest trusts. They are often used to build a nest egg for children, particularly for their school/university fees without the complication of a Discretionary Trust. Once the beneficiary turns 18, they can demand the asset be transferred to them, but if they do not do so, the Bare Trust continues.

For Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax (CGT), the beneficiary is treated as owning the underlying asset, so they can use their full personal allowances (rather than the reduced rates that apply to Discretionary Trusts – see below), although there is one exception to this: when a parent puts assets into a Bare Trust for the benefit of their minor children, the parent is assessed on the income of the assets in the Bare Trust until their child turns 18.

Q: What would you suggest to a client who does not want the beneficiary to receive the asset outright at 18?

A: This often comes up in practice, particularly when young minors are involved and it is too early to say how they are going to develop and be able to manage money as they get older.

In this instance, a Discretionary Trust is useful because of the flexibility that it offers insofar as distributions are at the discretion of the trustees. The trustees are often guided by a Letter of Wishes written by the person setting up the trust (also known as the Settlor). This is a separate and standalone document, where the Settlor would set out how they envisage the trustees will act (although they cannot bind them to act in a certain way).  The Settlor can also be one of the trustees of a Discretionary Trust.

Discretionary Trusts are subject to their own tax regime. Below is an outline but is not an exhaustive summary:-

IHT – The creation of a Discretionary Trust is treated as a gift by the Settlor and is an immediately chargeable transfer. If the value of the gift exceeds the current IHT threshold of £325,000 (after deducting exemptions and reliefs and any other gifts made in the preceding seven years), IHT is charged on the excess at 20%. If the Settlor dies within seven years, up to 20% of additional IHT may be payable.  The value of the property when settled will continue to form part of the Settlor’s cumulative total of chargeable lifetime gifts for the full seven years, which could impact on other gifts the Settlor makes.

The trustees will be liable to IHT on the value of the trust fund every 10 years. There is also an exit charge when distributions of capital are made. On each 10-year anniversary of the creation of the trust, and when capital distributions are made, the maximum rate of IHT on each occasion is currently 6%.

CGT – The trustees will be liable to CGT currently at 24% in respect of any gains exceeding the trustees’ available annual exemption, presently being a maximum of one-half of the individual’s annual CGT exemption.

It should be possible to avoid any liability to CGT either on the creation or on the termination of a Discretionary Trust by claiming hold-over relief.

Income Tax – Like you and I, trusts are subject to their own income tax regime too. If a Discretionary Trust receives no more than £500 of income in a tax year, the trustees don’t need to pay any tax on it.  Once the income exceeds £500, income tax is payable on all the income (ie not just that in excess of £500).  Trustees generally have to pay Income Tax at 45%. This will be the rate on income which is accumulated within the trust (ie not paid out to a beneficiary). However, a beneficiary who receives a distribution of income is given a credit for the 45% tax paid by the trustees. If the beneficiary is a non-taxpayer or a taxpayer at the basic or higher rate, they may reclaim the surplus tax previously paid. If the beneficiary is taxable at the top 45% rate, they will have no further tax to pay.  There is also a special rate of tax on dividends, on which trustees of a Discretionary Trust pay tax at 39.35%.

It should also be noted that a Discretionary Trust needs to be properly administered. This usually involves the trustees registering the Discretionary Trust with HMRC’s online Trust Registration Service, filing annual Tax Returns and issuing appropriate tax deduction certificates to beneficiaries who have received income. The trustees should also maintain trust accounts and properly manage the trust’s property or investments. The amount of administrative work will depend on the nature of the trust assets and on the frequency or otherwise of distributions of income and capital.

Q: Discretionary Trusts are complicated, should that put people off using them?

A: No.

Trusts are complicated because of their nature but that should not deter clients from considering them as part of their estate planning, particularly when they have concerns about a beneficiary.

They can often be very beneficial in the long term for succession planning, particularly where a beneficiary struggles with managing money or assets. The key is taking proper advice, on the legal side, as well as the accounting side and the financial side about the management of the underlying asset(s).

It is worth pointing out that Discretionary Trusts have other key features such as:-

• The assets do not aggregate with the beneficiaries’ own assets so it would not worsen their personal IHT position;
• Because the beneficiaries do not own the underlying assets, the Trust provides protection from redirection through a conscious decision or otherwise. This could include;

1. Divorce (although assets in a trust can be taken into account on divorce in some circumstances)
2. Financial difficulty e.g. bankruptcy

III. Protecting any State benefits to which the beneficiary may be entitled, including care fees (for the elderly or other beneficiaries who might qualify);

• The flexibility means the trust assets can be used to benefit someone without an outright transfer to them, such as a loan.

Q: In what circumstances would a Life Interest Trust be a better option than a Discretionary Trust?

A: Life Interest Trusts give a particular beneficiary (known as the Life Tenant) the legal right to receive the income from trust assets and to use property comprised in the trust. This right normally lasts throughout the beneficiary’s lifetime.

If the Settlor has concerns about trustees giving effect to their wishes, this can often by a useful mechanism as it gives the person in question a fixed entitlement. The trust specifies what happens on the Life Tenant’s death (or in other circumstances) so it gives an element of certainty for the Settlor that the trust assets will end up with the beneficiaries the Settlor favours.

The trustees still have the responsibility of safeguarding the assets for the Life Tenant and beneficiaries who receive the trust assets after the Life Tenant’s interest ends.

Life Interest Trusts have broadly speaking the same tax consequences as a Discretionary Trust, although different tax consequences apply where a Life Interest Trust is set up in a will.

An example of when this has worked in practice

A client of mine had two daughters, one of whom had learning difficulties and lived with her.

In her will, my client set up a Discretionary Trust with an accompanying Letter of Wishes specifying that the daughter living with her should be allowed to live in the property for a period of time after her mother’s death to give her time to adjust, after which the trust should buy her a smaller property to live in, which the trustees did.

The other daughter’s share of the trust was appointed out of the trust for her to use as she wished. Once the trust had been reorganised a few years later, the income was mandated to the daughter with learning difficulties to provide her an income with which to maintain her new home (which also simplified the administration of the trust) whilst protecting the underlying capital.

The information provided is at the date of 27 August 2025.