Probate Trust

[countrygirl99]

We need to update our wills and had a meeting today where the advisor was heavily pushing a probate trust. It's highly unlikely there would be any IHT liability and my main concern is to make the admin as simple as possible for DC. One lives abroad so the other will get all the admin hassle, though hopefully not for 20 years or so.
I've had a Google but everything I find is solicitors etc selling a service, nothing about the pros and cons versus mirror wills. Anyone got any experience?

Do you mean a Will Trust? If the inheritance sum isn't vast then I really wouldn't bother. A Trust saves inheritance tax for the next generation - so your DC to DGC. Plus there'll be administration and legal fees.
Unless you plan to involve both children in the setting up of the Tust and to agree arrangements with them, I really wouldn't.
As someone who (as my name ha he suggests) is currently having Will problems - of a Trust nature - I'd say leave well alone! We've been left with a Trust with a very difficult and decidedly untrustworthy Trustee to deal with and are trying every time g we can to make sure this changes!

You say an “advisor” was pushing a probate trust. Please talk to a solicitor as anyone can be an “advisor”.

My family set up several Trusts. While it must have made sense at the time, it has been so confusing and expensive to administer (a lawyer is one of the trustees so charges every time we had a question), that we dissolved a couple as soon as we could. I'm out of them now - I live in a different country to my siblings - though I believe they still have one. Our circumstances are all different too. I think one reason behind the trusts was to 'protect' the money from leaving the family in case of divorce, except I was the only one who married snd he passed away before both my parents.
Our assets are greater than yours and so inheritance tax was a factor. It doesn't seem worth it if your wealth is not that high.