MARRIED PERSONS DISCRETIONARY TRUST WILLS

Nil Rate Band Discretionary Trust and Spouse Exemption Trust of Residue

These type of wills:

• Revokes former wills
• Appoints your executors
• Gives assets to your executor/trustees on discretionary trusts up to the Nil Rate Band limit for Inheritance Tax purposes,(£325,000) for the benefit of your Nil Rate Band Beneficiaries (see next paragraph).
• Creates a trust period of 80 years with potential beneficiaries of husband or wife or Civil Partner surviving you children or grandchildren and the husband or wife or Civil Partner may be a trustee
• Gives power to your executors to invest generally for the benefit of your beneficiaries and to advance to them or their trustees all or any part of the trust fund and to retain property in its existing form. (for instance the home)
• Power for trustees to instead of paying the nil rate fund out in cash accept a charge on property of the surviving Husband or Wife or Civil Partner or a promissory note from them lend money to the Husband or Wife or Civil Partner
• The trustees may regard without obligation the surviving Husband or Wife or Civil Partner as the primary beneficiary
• Gives the rest of your property to your executors to sell pay your debts and testamentary expenses and divide and pay the income to the surviving Husband or Wife or Civil Partner for life income and capital to children remoter issue or others, in equal shares, with power to advance capital during the life of the Husband or Wife/ Civil Partner to all residuary beneficiaries. These advancements are potentially exempt for Inheritance Tax purposes (7 year rule)
• If the Husband or Wife or Civil Partner does not survive you divides and pays the rest of your property after payment of debts and testamentary expenses at the discretion of your Trustees to the beneficiaries, your children or others and remoter issue
• Gives power to your executors to give possessions to a beneficiary as part of any gift instead of money
• Gives funeral and burial or cremation directions *
• Appoints Guardians for any children under the age of 18 years
• Gives directions for signing and witnessing the will to validate it.

Note: Print off the above page so that you can have the information available before starting to fill in the details in those input sections you chose for your will

From the 9th October 2007 a surviving Husband or wife or Civil Partners estate, may utilize the unused Nil Rate Band allowance for Inheritance Tax from the estate of the Husband or Wife or Civil Partner who dies first. There is no tax on estates passing between Husband and Wife or Civil Partners but property passing to third parties (such as children) above the nil rate band is taxed at 40%.If no gift of any amount up to the Nil Rate Band allowance (£325,000) has been made to a third party (such as children) in the estate of the Husband or Wife or Civil Partner first to die, then the unused Nil Rate Band allowance on the estate of the first spouse to die can be claimed on the estate of the of the deceased surviving spouse. The Joint Nil Rate Band allowance can be as much as £650,000 (reduced pro rata to the gifts made to third parties in the first will or otherwise) on the estate of the of the deceased surviving Husband or Wife or Civil Partner

These wills disposes of up to the nil rate band free of tax to trustees for the benefit of third parties (such as children) as an alternative to a Nil rate band transfer of allowance being claimed by the estate of the deceased surviving Husband or wife or Civil Partner. A potential saving of Inheritance Tax on the death of the surviving Husband or Wife, or Civil Partners, of up to £130,000.00 on joint estates of a Husband and Wife, or Civil Partners is available as an alternative using these wills but control is kept on the assets put into the Nil Rate Band Trust by the Trustees

If there is sufficient money available without depriving the husband/ wife or civil partner, then the children or grandchildren can be preferred so as to remove the nil rate band value of assets from the joint estates of the husband and wife/civil Partners to effect a full saving for Inheritance Tax purposes under these wills or if advanced to the husband or wife/ civil partner an IOU obtained from them for the benefit of the Trustees of the Nil Rate Band Beneficiaries such as the children/grandchildren (particually useful when the principle assets is the home).

There is also a gift of the rest of your property to your executors to sell pay your debts and testamentary expenses and divide and pay the income to the surviving Husband or Wife or Civil Partner for life and capital to children remoter issue or others with power to advance capital during the life of the Husband or Wife/ Civil Partner all residuary beneficiaries. These advancements are potentially exempt for Inheritance Tax purposes allowing a possible further saving of inhenratance tax.

Action to be taken on completing the wills

Property held in joint names of Husband or Wife, or Civil Partner, such as the home, must have the joint tenancy severed. This is done by the joint tenants signing the form with the will and if the home is registered at the Land Registry, filing the form (notice of severance) at the Land Registry. If the home is not registered then the notice of severance must be attached to the conveyance or assurance to the Husband and Wife, or Civil Partners.

If you are married, or registered civil partners you may be able to reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax payable by in excess of £130,000.00 on your joint estates by the above wills.

If this will is not suitable for you, please click here for more information on other types of will.

Step 1: of 9 Discretionary Trust wills

Step 2: of 9 Personal details (are treated as confidential)

Please note: all fields need to be completed in this section.