Trusts

[Whyisitsodifficult]

Does anyone now about setting up a Interest in possession trust? As I understand them I could leave my share of my estate to my partner but when he dies it then has to pass on to my children?
Trying to sort out our wills and finding it a bit tricky! Any legal brains out there!?

This sort of trust is usually part of your will. Can the solicitor helping you with the wills not include that as part of the terms?

I've only just found out about them and just wondered if it was the best way to ensure my children get my share of the estate when I and then my partner dies. All very complicated but really want to ensure that they get what's rightfully theirs in case my partner remarries and it gets diluted down by any further children!

It depends on what assets you've got. The most typical one is the house. It goes into an IIP trust to be used by the surviving spouse for his/her lifetime and then it will belong to the children. I've usually seen it in the case of older couples where the trustees are the children who are eventually going to get the house. In your case you might want to add outside trustees who you can trust to do the right thing for your partner and your children. The trustees are the people who make decisions about the assets you've left to the trust, based on your instructions and their best judgment.

Thanks for that. Would it mean that my partner couldn't sell the house and use any profit from the sale? We live in a largish house so if he wanted to downsize after I die would any profit go straight to the children? I don't want him to suffer financially or feel restricted I just want to ensure my children eventually get all of it! Controlling from the grave is what I've been told!

Not if he's not one of the trustees. The trustees would be the ones in control of the assets. Your partner would have the right to use the house, or income generated by assets in the trust but he has no control over the assets themselves unless he is one of the trustees.

If your partner feels he wants to downsize and the trustees agree then the house can be sold and a new one bought but the leftover cash would still belong to the trust and the trustees can invest it in whatever way they consider best. It would not, by default, go to your partner.

Obviously the details can be tweaked, this is the way the simplest IIP trusts work. You may also have an IHT issue, depending on the value of your total estate.

Thank you for your help. We had a home visit from a will writers firm and he was very dismissive of the idea, basically telling us that it would be shackling my partner! I guess a trip to a solicitors is the next step. Thanks again.