Asset Protection Trust

Did you know?

• ¾ of those over the age of 60 will need some form of Long Term care.
• According to SAGA the average time spent in care is four years.
• Local Authorities in the UK force the sale of around 70,000 private homes to pay for care each year, which is approximately 200 a day and this number is growing.
• Typical practices to protect assets, such as transferring them into children's names etc are routinely reversed as they can be deemed to be 'Deliberate Deprivation of Assets'.
• Only the last £14,250 of your assets is protected!

Why Setup An Asset Protection Trust?

An Asset Protection Trust (APT) is specifically designed to protect your hard worked for assets during your lifetime and to give you the peace of mind that they can pass on securely and intact to your spouse, your children and their bloodline (or other named beneficiaries) after your death.

A Will can only control the assets that you own at the date of your death and if these are eroded during your lifetime e.g. in the payment of Long Term Care Fees, there will be little if anything for your beneficiaries to inherit. With an Asset Protection Trust, so long as it is setup at the right time and in the correct way, you can 'ring fence' your assets such as your home and your savings.

Assets can be added and removed during your lifetime so you don't have the concern of your money being tied up indefinitely. If you have a large expense that cannot be met out of your normal income e.g. new car, a holiday, or house repairs, the appropriate sum can be transferred to your account from the APT. You are also free to move home or release equity from the APT at any time.

You retain full control of the assets within the trust while you are alive and have capacity. The APT is also fully reversible, so if you change your mind at any time in the future, everything can be returned back to how it is now.

Key Benefits Of An Asset Protection Trust

• Dependent beneficiaries will not lose their State and local authority funding which they would do if they inherited directly.
• Should you enter into a new relationship after you spouse has died, the Asset Protection Trust will also protect your children and grandchildren from losing their inheritance. o Avoidance of the need to obtain a grant of probate. If you have less than £5,000 outside the APT on your death, many if not all of the delays and costs typically associated with winding up an estate can normally be avoided and the assets protected by the Trust can be distributed to your beneficiaries in a matter of days if desired.
• Protection against Long Term Care Fees which are typically £2,500 to £5,000 per month.
• An APT cannot be challenged on your death, so if a claim is brought against your estate, it will only apply to any assets outside the Trust.
• If you are in business and would like to safeguard your personal assets from future unforeseen business debts, the Asset Protection Trust can keep them safe. Although this does not prevent you from being bankrupt it can avoid the assets held within the trust being taken to satisfy them.
• You are no longer allowed to manage your affairs if you become mentally incapable and a special court called the Court of protection will take control of Assets outside the APT. This is to protect you from yourself and to prevent the unscrupulous from taking advantage of you. The APT allows you to choose Protectors who can control your assets without the supervision of the Court.
• Assets held within the APT will not form part of the taxable estate of you beneficiaries potentially saving tens of thousands in inheritance tax.

To find out how Estate Legacy Services can help, please contact us.