Wills and Trusts

[Sparkym62]

hello all,

I need help with a discretionary trust that I need to set up for my daughter, my head is spinning at the moment on what to do, I’ve been on a Mencap webinar regarding the issue which helped a bit but I just need help, the cost of setting up is so expensive, I just need some pointers to guide me in the right direction.

Thank you.

[MontyCat]

Hi, yes it is a bit of a minefield and it seems that very few banks now offer trust accounts which doesn't help. I set one up a couple of years back for my daughter but this was with the )expensive) assistance of a solicitor. The fund is held by Cater Allen bank. As you probably know MENCAP have a Wills and Trusts service but using this would, I believe, make them the sole trustee/s and this may not be what you want. We definitely wanted family members to be the trustees. Other than contacting an independent organisation such as Citizens Advice Bureau I don't know what to suggest. Otherwise you will need a solicitor experienced in this field. Hope this helps.

[Sparkym62 in reply to MontyCat]

Hello there,

Thank you for responding, I was thinking of contacting citizens advice, I did get some free advice from a solicitor and they adviced Mencap so not to put pressure on family members, which are all scattered around in the UK and abroad.

Thank you again for responding.

[Mummypam in reply to MontyCat]

hi, I am in the same position as you. My local council have indicated that they will look after her bank account etc. but I do not want that..

I have just appointed a solicitor on line.

Good luck.

[Greatauntie in reply to Mummypam]

The council are very 'light touch' on monitoring expenditure.

[DrSarahmac]

hi. I had been worried about this for decades. I finally attended the mencap seminar which was a lifeline and gave me the information I needed to get things started.

I eventually went with Renaissance Legal in Brighton after talking to both solicitors that run the mencap seminars. It wasn’t cheap. Joint wills and a discretionary trust was about £2.5k, but I feel calmer that a solution is now in place.

Like you my head was spinning with it all and it took months for me to decide who to go with and then a few months to work out the mechanics of the wills and trust but I got incredible support from Renaissance. They are actually slightly cheaper in terms of the longer term fees for managing the trust

In the end I felt Mencap were too rigid regarding the trust set ups. I have no siblings or other children so a trust is essential. I wouldn’t consider leaving it to the public sector to manage in my absence.

I have found a trust bank account that is fairly easy to open at Metro Bank. It does cost £5 per month unless there’s a balance of £25k or more. I think it’s worth having that set up and ready to go.

I hope that’s helpful. I paced it so it didn’t take over my life and I had time to think things through properly. It still took several months but it’s such a relief to have it in place.

I hope that helps. Good luck.

[Maurice_Mencap Partner]

Hi Sparkym62 , as others have mentioned in their responses, Mencap's Wills and Trusts service would be a great place to start with any questions you might have after attending the webinar. There's a some resources you can download which might help and the contact details of the team on their webpage: mencap.org.uk/advice-and-su...

I'd definitely recommend having a chat with the team! The Wills and Trusts service is all about planning, support and advice, and is separate to the Mencap Trust Company, who actually manage trusts.

Hope that helps. 🙂

[Salah11]

Another vote for Renaissance Legal but appreciate it’s not cheap.

[CareBlogBlue]

I set up a Disabled Persons Trust eight years ago[Property and Bank Account[. It didn't come cheap but gives me "peace of mind". It is registered with HMRC.I have recently had to find a new bank for the account as Nationwide no longer do them. Cater Allen or Metro Bank do.Go with a solicitor who has experties in the field of Trusts. If you have trusted younger family, or friends who would be willing to act as Trustee's it might be a lot cheaper than appointing a Professional, as they would charge fees. Good wishes. You are doing the right thing.

[Marzano]

We also went with Renaissance Legal and found them very helpful. As others have said, they're not cheap but extremely knowledgeable and reassuring.

[outdoorsy1]

you can make a will that will set up the trust upon your death, you dont have to set up the trust in advance if it doesn't suit you to do so. you should look at disabled persons trust as there are tax advantages over discretionary trust. many solicitors are able to set this up for you, look around locally.