More control over how your estate passes on
Trusts give your plans extra strength: protecting your home and assets, adding flexibility, and making sure loved ones inherit exactly as you intend.
- Will trusts or lifetime trusts
- Honest advice, only if it helps
- Qualified, insured SWW members
The basics
What a trust can do for you
A trust is a legal arrangement that gives you more say over how your home and savings are passed on, and more protection along the way. Some are written into your Will and take effect afterwards; others are set up now, during your lifetime.
The right choice depends entirely on your circumstances. We always begin with a general chat about you and your aims, explain the options in plain English, and only ever suggest what genuinely helps. Sometimes a well-drafted simple Will is exactly the right answer.
Three roles are involved: the settlor who creates the trust, the trustees who manage it in line with your wishes, and the beneficiaries who ultimately benefit.
Each role carries its own tax responsibilities, which GOV.UK's guide to trusts and taxes sets out in full.
Trusts often work alongside wider Inheritance Tax planning too, see our guide to how IHT affects a typical Winscombe estate.
- Protect your homeAgainst unexpected events and future care costs.
- Provide for the right peopleA surviving partner, children, or a vulnerable loved one.
- Add flexibilitySo your estate adapts to whatever life brings.
- Keep things smootherHelping loved ones avoid some of the delays of probate.
Two kinds of trust
In your Will, or in your lifetime
| Family & Property Trusts | Lifetime Trusts | |
|---|---|---|
| When it takes effect | Written into your Will, taking effect after your passing | Set up now, active during your lifetime |
| What it can do | Protect your home, provide for a partner, shield a vulnerable beneficiary | Protect your home for future generations while you keep control |
| Often helps with | Remarriage, care costs and blended families | Avoiding probate delays and long-term protection |
| Explore Will Trusts | Explore Lifetime Trusts |
- When it takes effect
- Written into your Will, taking effect after your passing
- What it can do
- Protect your home, provide for a partner, shield a vulnerable beneficiary
- Often helps with
- Remarriage, care costs and blended families
- When it takes effect
- Set up now, active during your lifetime
- What it can do
- Protect your home for future generations while you keep control
- Often helps with
- Avoiding probate delays and long-term protection
The options
Common types of trust we advise on
A simple Will is not always enough
Life can take unexpected turns after a Will is written. A trust prepares for them. Without one:
Questions, answered
Trust FAQs
Please note: some aspects of trust planning, particularly around tax, may need advice from a qualified financial adviser or accountant. We are always clear about the scope of our advice and refer you on where appropriate.
Keep exploring
Our other services
Friendly, professional guidance across everything estate planning, always personal and always in plain English.
Protection that outlasts the unexpected.
Home visits across Somerset, or online anywhere in England and Wales.