Wealth Management

There is a saying that “Wealth does not last more than three generations”.  Trusts are commonly used as a means of managing assets – both for short and long term purposes such as investment and estate purposes.  

Overview
In a nutshell, a trust is property/assets that are  held by a trustee for the benefit of beneficiaries.

• Settlor – Creates the trust after transferring legal ownership of assets to Trustees;
• Trustees – Hold the trusts’ assets for the benefit of persons named by the Settlor (“beneficiaries”); and
• Beneficiaries – A  persons to benefit from the trusts but the extent is determined at the trustee’s discretion.

An easy way to imagine a trust is to understand its origin:

Knight who has a family and owns a farm that his family live and grow food on.  As Knight’s occupation is dangerous, he wants to ensure his family are looked after in his absence.

Knight appoints his friend Bishop to become the owner of the farm held for the benefit of Knight’s family. This is until he returns or for a time period.

This means Bishop must make decisions about the farm for the families’ benefit with Bishop personally liable for any debts entered into.

If properly planned and structured, trusts are useful in preserving your wealth and assets.  As there are many different trusts with many variations and outcomes, we suggest getting in contact with our experts to help tailor to your specific situation.  

This is an informative piece and should not be relied upon as legal or tax advice as it may not apply to your personal circumstance.  It is not intended to provide a complete overview but rather the key points we believe are important for our clients.

If you would like to know more, contact us for a free consultation.