inter vivos trust
A trust can be useful for securing assets such as a family farm or holiday home for future generations, safeguarding against potential alienation or sale. In such circumstances, the trust serves as a valuable succession planning tool by ensuring that
Bewind trusts are created as trading vehicles and provide trustees with limited liability as well as certain tax benefits for beneficiaries. In a bewind trust, the trust founder sets up the trust in such a way that the assets and
In December 2022, there were further stringent amendments made to the Trust Property Control Act, including a change in the trustees reporting and the introduction of a new definition of ‘beneficial owner’.
If you intend setting up a trust, do not underestimate the importance of choosing appropriately skilled trustees to manage the trust assets, keeping in mind that the job a trustee is an onerous one that should not be taken lightly.
Once the assets are transferred into the trust, they no longer belong to the trust founder and the trustees are required to take over full control of the assets and ensure that they are managed to achieve the best outcomes
A trust can also be used strategically to safeguard your personal assets from the potential risks associated with business activities and/or insolvency. By setting up a living trust, you can transfer specific assets into the trust with the primary focus
While alter-ego trusts may be valid, ‘sham’ trusts fail to meet the requirements for validity in that they are essentially fake trusts designed to deceive others. As such, the test for determining whether a trust is a sham one is
As an aside, it is important to note that this type of trust can only be set up for the benefit of a disabled person and no one else’s benefit. Where there are two or more beneficiaries to your trust,
To safeguard the trust assets against the effects of inflation, it will be necessary for the trustees to assume some investment risk, and it is important that the trustees have a sound understanding of how investments work in order to
The trustees that you appoint will have a fiduciary duty to manage the trust assets in the best interests of the trust beneficiaries, and it is, therefore, important to choose your trustees wisely. Ideally, you should consider someone who has
