The Asset Preservation trust has been designed to hold death in service benefits and death payments from pensions when a policy claim is made. The Trust wraps itself around the benefits, which become the Trust property. This means that when a policy claim is made, the sum insured is paid to the trust and then controlled by the Trustees to meet the interest of the beneficiaries.
The advantages of the Trust are:
- Benefits can be paid to beneficiaries free of Inheritance Tax
- Benefits from policies can be paid prior to and without the granting of probate
- The funds within the Trust are not affected by any challenge or variation of the Will
- Funds can be retained within the Trust for up to 80 years
- Funds are held away from the beneficiaries estate. This means that a spouse can benefit from them without them falling into their estate and being subject to the spouse’s Inheritance Tax.
- The Trust is written as discretionary Trust, giving greater flexibility than Interest in Possession or bare Trusts
What Type of Will Do You Need?
Choosing the right kind of Will is not always simple and straightforward. Depending on your individual financial circumstances, you may need a will that contains Trusts Instructions and more and more people are choosing to put a Power of Attorney in place to help a family member or loved one take care of important decisions and financial matters in the event of a loss of capacity in later life.