• • To act with 'reasonable' skill and care

• • To take advice where appropriate

• • To keep the investments under review

So what is 'reasonable' skill and care? This is dependent on your personal knowledge. If you are, say, an investment professional, then you would be expected to have higher standards than a lay person.
If you are not competent in the investment arena yourself, you should obtain proper advice as to how best to invest the monies, unless the cost of such advice is prohibitive in relation to the value of the trust. Proper Advice is defined as "the advice of a person who is reasonably believed by the trustee to be qualified to give it by his ability in and practical experience of financial and other matters relating to the proposed investment".

The FCA does not regulate income tax and trust planning.

 

 

Court of Protection

The Court of Protection makes decision on financial or welfare matters for people who can’t make decisions at the time they need to be made (they ‘lack mental capacity’). This is often done by appointing a Deputy to make decisions on behalf of the individual.

There are two types of Deputy

Property and financial affairs deputy

To do things like pay the person’s bills or organise their pension.

Personal welfare deputy

To make decisions about medical treatment and how someone is looked after.

We can help with the former by working with the Deputy to ensure that any assets are invested appropriately, with cash for the short term and contingencies, and relevant investment strategies for the medium to long term.

We would consider how to minimise tax and provide information for tax returns. This assists with the record keeping requirements imposed on the Deputy.

We believe that a cash flow forecast, regularly updated, would be essential so that the Deputy can monitor when and if funds would run out.

Our objective would be to support the Deputy and the individual, to ensure that funds are invested appropriately to cover the ongoing day to day needs of the individual and their longer-term desires.

RHL Trustee Investment Plan Service

For trust advisers/professional and lay trustees, an easy to use service designed to ensure compliance with the Trustee Act 2000. A piece of mind service offering a route map to carrying out trustee obligations, demonstrating an audit trail of actions taken in the event of legal challenge.

 

Part One;

A review questionnaire leading to a statement detailing the objectives of the trust and the requirements of the beneficiaries.

Part Two;

A review of the cash flow requirements of the trust together with the state of health and anticipated life expectancy of the beneficiaries.

Part Three;

The provision of a template detailing reasoned assumptions of the long term likely returns of different asset classes adjusted for inflation.

Review of the recommended asset mix to satisfy the obligation for the trust

Part Four;

To consider the tax efficient construction of the trust investments with comparisons of differing options for both income and capital growth.

Part Five;

To annually review the above, ensuring changes in circumstances and legislation are duly considered.

 

In Summary

A robust and repeatable service to support and ensure the trustees and beneficiaries achieve their reasonable expectations.

If you or would like more information, or would like to discuss this, then please do not hesitate to contact Peter Rutherford, David Hughes or Denise Graham.

Telephone 0191 229 9600.

Email admin@rutherfordhughes.com