Trust is a powerful word, especially where wealth is concerned.
Who do we trust to look after our money? Who do we trust to advise us? Who do we trust to manage our affairs while we’re alive? Who do we trust to administer our estate after we’ve gone?
The principle of placing your financial trust in the hands of a separate entity has its roots in ancient history. For centuries, before going to war, people would assign their assets and anything else they owned (including servants) to someone they trusted. That person became a Trustee and had full control of those assets until the other person returned.
Today, trusts play an important role in financial planning.
Do you need a Professional Trustee?
A Trust is a legal entity. It’s an agreement between you as an owner of assets and your appointed trustee(s).
The trustee has responsibility for handling any assets you place in the Trust before they’re given out to those you designate to receive them. Although the trustee legally owns the assets, they cannot benefit from them unless they are a beneficiary themselves.
Basically, you’re trusting them to do what you ask when you ask for it for the benefit of whoever you’d like.
The main value of a Trust, however, lies in its ability to protect your wealth from exposure to any probate liabilities after death.
As such, Trusts can be an important and useful tool in Estate, Inheritance Tax (IHT) and Investment planning.
As well as dealing with leading local law firms we can also call upon the expertise of Genus Trust Company Limited in Jersey. Jersey is a leading centre of international finance. It has complete autonomy in its internal affairs, (including taxation and other aspects of the law). It also has a strong and well-established financial infrastructure.
As a Professional Trustee, they are dedicated to ensuring the wishes of the settlor (the person setting up the trust) are carried out sensitively and discretely and that any requests are thoroughly discussed and accurately recorded. Ultimately, their commitment, placed upon them by the settlor, is to the beneficiaries of the trust.
If you’d like to know more about how a Professional Trustee could help you, get in touch today.
It should be noted that trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, please be aware that Genus Trust Company Limited is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission and services provided are separate and distinct to those offered by St. James's Place.
