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Discretionary Will Trust

11 replies

jjjkkk · 12/07/2018 15:17

Hello. My Dad died last year and prior to this (around 2001) he and my Mum contacted a firm of solicitors to set up a Discretionary Will Trust in order to minimize or eliminate inheritance tax liability. This was because they wanted to leave me as much of the estate as they could. When Mum dies and after distribution of a few hundred pounds here and there going to life long friends the intention was that I would be left with the bulk of the estate having no surviving relatives or siblings. There were 3 trustees named in the Trust, one was my mother, and the other two a married couple who are family friends. On Dad's death we contacted the solicitor which resulted in a meeting between him, myself and Mum and the two other trustees. My godparents decided during the meeting that they wished to withdraw from being Trustees which is quite understandable as the process is very confusing and they are in their late 70's. It was decided (on a casual basis) to have my Mum, myself and partner as Trustees. The solicitor has stated that the Godparents don't want to be executors to the Will either and has sent them a form to apply for a Deed of Renunciation but its over £500. He seems to want this money upfront. We are not clear if this Deed also renounces them from the DWT also. Mum has every intention of paying out of the estate for it and doesn't expect them to pay for it but the solicitor seems to want it now in order to get the ball rolling. Is this correct? The situation is stale mate and he says its conflict of interest as he is 'acting' for all three Trustees and can't hassle them to sort it out. I'm concerned if I should lose Mum I won't be left anything. Any experts out there - Solicitors or similar who can advise please??

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MessySurfaces · 12/07/2018 17:15

Mmm. So you might have to pay for lots of solicitors instead of for hospitals etc. Poor you.

jjjkkk · 13/07/2018 07:59

Not a very helpful or constructive comment Messy Surfaces. So you are having a go at me for protecting an estate which was worked incredibly hard for and by parents that always saved hard for a decent lifestyle and who (along with myself) have always paid into the system over the years that they worked. FYI hundreds of thousands of people have taken out discretionary will trusts over the years to minimise inheritance tax. If people have forward planning and have the sense to take them out then why berate them for it??

There is a strong smell of bitterness around if you ask me.

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feral · 13/07/2018 12:37

I have no advice other perhaps posting under legal might bear more fruit?

No judgement here Smile

jjjkkk · 13/07/2018 13:04

Thanks Feral

Wow. This was my first post on this forum having used other forums in the past which have been scarily frightening to use because of the comments and abuse that people that certain people feel they have free rein to wield against others when asking genuine questions. So it's not been the best start, I was hoping this one would be less judgemental and disparaging and infinitely more helpful.

I didn't realize there was a legal section so I will use that. Its quite hard to navigate around this forum compared with others I've used in the past but I am sure I will the the hang of it. I am sure, like you say it will bear more fruit. And talking of fruit and speaking metaphorically - there is always one bad apple in a crate so I've chucked it out and hope the rest of the crate will be much nicer and won't leave such a bitter taste in my mouth.

Thank you for your help. Much appreciated

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SassitudeandSparkle · 13/07/2018 13:08

I've known someone write a letter to remove themselves as an executor and I don't think it cost anything - is this the solicitor's fees? Probably the case I'm thinking of just wrote a letter to the Probate Office (executors have to apply for Probate and be interviewed).

SassitudeandSparkle · 13/07/2018 13:11

www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate/content/100321

By executor I mean in terms of the will, not sure about removing yourself (well, them) as trustees of a fund.

jjjkkk · 13/07/2018 13:23

Hey thanks SAS. That's most helpful. Yes you are right insomuch as it doesn't explain about removing trustees from a DWT but it explains about the Deed of Renunication. I've googled till I'm blue in the face but still can't find info about removing trustees. Total nightmare.

Thanks again x

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SassitudeandSparkle · 13/07/2018 14:14

Have you tried ringing the local Probate Office for advice - especially about the executor issue. Who set up the trust originally, was it the solicitor who is acting for you now?

SassitudeandSparkle · 13/07/2018 14:17

taylorsplatt.com.au/discretionary-trust-faq/

You can resign as a member of a discretionary trust, the exact method is probably specified in the terms of the trust. Do you have a copy of the document?

I'm not legally qualified btw.

jjjkkk · 13/07/2018 14:46

No I don't have a copy unfortunately. We all sat with the solicitors during an hours meeting and by the end of it we were so confused after being given a very long winded and convoluted explanation and reasoning behind a DWT, the reasons for, the reasons against, etc, etc, etc. We were lost after five minutes.

I've worked in Probate and Wills previously (as a legal secretary) but even I was confused as I never had any dealings with DWT's. Its very confusing but the solicitor has said that we need to remove the trustees, appoint two more (three is the ideal number) and then Mum has to have her Will re-done as well as look at the Power of Attorney side of things which Mum has mentioned to me as she is losing her memory quite dramatically. He says that Dad's side of the DWT is protected so if Mum needs to go in a care home they can't take his side of the estate into account when assessing care home needs as this is also protected under a DWT. But we didn't quite understand that either. Don't get me wrong he explained our questions but then we were left with even more questions than ever and as time went on it became even more complicated.

He's quoted around the £5K mark for it all and as far as I'm concerned I've not got a clue if this is realistic or he's seen a gullible widow and wants to take her to the cleaners! I hate trying to understand stuff that I have no interest in or can't even hope to understand. We left the meeting being none the wiser really.

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jjjkkk · 13/07/2018 14:50

I will have a look when I next visit Mum as she has a copy. I will see if there is any explanation in there. I haven't even now read the Will. Its not of any great interest to me as I know its mine eventually but I am concerned that as we have reached this stale mate in terms of the trustees being unwilling to spend the money on the Deed of Renunciation (which is understandable) I am concerned that its going to be a very long winded case to resolve and I'm even more concerned that if the loose ends aren't tied and Mum, God forbid should pass away, I am going to be left with a very long, and complicated procedure to get probate as he said in this scenario you would have to apply to the courts.

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