Are you a Trustee? Our specialist team at WBW Solicitors is here to help.

Trustees have an obligation to keep proper accounting records and usually submit annual tax returns. This can be onerous as the taxation of trusts is increasingly complex, particularly for discretionary trusts, accumulation and maintenance trusts and interest in possession trusts affected by the new 'relevant property regime', and, as such, it is advisable to seek professional advice on this.

WBW Solicitors tailor our service to meet your needs, whether it is the full package of trust administration and tax returns or tax returns only, on an ongoing or a one-off basis. We can complete your tax return, calculate the tax, liaise with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on your behalf and ensure that all this is done within their deadlines. Trustees have certain legal obligations that they must fulfil while acting as a trustee, be it a trust created in your lifetime which is to take immediate effect (often referred to as a “lifetime settlement”) or a trust created on death through a Will (known as a “Will Trust”) and we are able to advice on all aspects of a trustees duties. If these obligations are not properly fulfilled then trustees can face legal sanctions and the trust or trustees personally suffer penalties imposed by HMRC.

We have specialists who can advise on tax planning for capital gains tax or inheritance tax.

Trustees are under a legal obligation to “exercise such care and skill as is reasonable in the circumstances” and may benefit from advice on what is 'reasonable' in the particular trust for who they are responsible.

Any new trusts must be reported to HMRC for one or more of income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax purposes.

Also WBW Solicitors can be named as trustees of both lifetime settlements and Will trusts. WBW Solicitors have the expertise needed to administer trusts correctly and deal with any property, tax or trust law issues that arise during the lifetime of the trust. Naming WBW Solicitors as trustees gives continuity and can be particularly helpful where there are no friends or family members who you want to act or where there are potential conflicts between the beneficiaries of the trust.