We help you set up asset protection trusts to safeguard your wealth, manage risk, and ensure your assets are securely preserved for the people you want to benefit.

We spend our lives building valuable assets, often with the intention of passing them on to future generations. However, there can be understandable concerns if those you wish to benefit are too young, inexperienced, or in circumstances where assets could be lost through divorce, bankruptcy, poor financial decisions, or outside influence. An asset protection trust provides a structured and reliable way to safeguard your wealth, allowing carefully chosen trustees to manage assets and release funds when appropriate, so your beneficiaries are supported while the assets themselves remain protected.

Key benefits can include:

• Potential inheritance tax efficiency
• Protection of assets following a second marriage
• Safeguarding assets if a beneficiary faces divorce or bankruptcy
• Helping simplify or avoid probate for assets held in trust, saving time and cost
• Ensuring loved ones benefit at the most appropriate time
• Providing protection against issues linked to long term care funding
• Preventing assets from being misused or squandered

There are two main forms of asset protection trust: life interest trusts and discretionary trusts. A life interest trust gives a named beneficiary the right to benefit from the trust assets during their lifetime, with the capital passing to other chosen beneficiaries afterwards. A discretionary trust, by contrast, gives trustees the flexibility to decide when and how income or capital is distributed among the beneficiaries named in the trust deed.

These trusts are designed to preserve assets for future generations and reduce the risk of them being lost or misused. They can hold a wide range of assets or investments, depending on your circumstances, but must be formally created in writing and funded by transferring assets to the trustees. For example, placing property into a trust requires a signed transfer deed and registration with HM Land Registry. Trustees are given broad authority to manage the trust assets, so choosing the right individuals is essential. You may act as a trustee during your lifetime, either alongside professional advisers or trusted relatives or friends.

We provide clear, tailored advice to help you establish and manage an asset protection trust that reflects your wishes, safeguards your wealth, and supports your chosen beneficiaries both now and in the future.

• Advise on whether an asset protection trust is suitable for your circumstances
• Help you choose appropriate and reliable trustees
• Guide you on selecting and structuring beneficiaries
• Set up the trust and arrange the transfer of assets into it
• Record your wishes to guide trustees on how the trust should be managed after your death