Trust Fund problem

[NettleTea]

My parents in law own a farm, which, for previous generational family reasons, is a limited company. My partner is a director.

There are voting shares and capital shares.

Currently voting shares are split between MIL and FIL, and the other capital shares are split 50:50 with 50% being held in a trust which my parents in law and an old solicitor from FIL's parent's firm (luckily still alive) named as trustee.

We do not have any paperwork to do with this trust, FIL claims ignorance, solicitor when finally tracked down cant remember, MIL didnt even know there was a trust.

Trust was set up many years ago - it appears on all the electronic data I have traced to do with tax returns, but the current accountants dont seem to have ever had a copy of it, and the current family solicitor doesnt seem to have it either.

There is a suspicion in our mind that the trust was set up by FIL's parents to settle their estate, and that we suspect that my partner and his sister (now ages 49 and 52 respectively) were/ are beneficiaries of the trust.

I have managed to narrow a time frame of when the trust was set up, and I have found the name of the trust, and I believe that it must have been registered as it involved the transfer of shares of a limited company. But where do I go to find out the details and beneficiaries of the trust? I just keep coming up against a brick wall and my PIL are not being very helpful or capable.

Is it likely that they could be named as beneficiaries and be trustees as well?

If it is a limited company you ought to be able to get details from Companies House? there might be a fee payable.

It's a private document. You are not entitled to a copy of the trust. If the trustees won't tell you, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it.

even if my partner may be one of the beneficiaries, Collaborate?

MIL is keen to get to the bottom of it, but is quite unwell, so has found trying to follow it up very difficult, and has left it to me.

If he is a beneficiary then there is a duty to inform. This might help. The trustees might say though that either he isn't a beneficiary, or he's too remote (say in the even of the trust being a discretionary trust and there being many other potential beneficiaries). there's nothing you can do about that if that's their response.