Trust Compliance

The Trust Act 2019 comes into force on 30 January 2021.

This legislation is the first overhaul of trust law in over six decades.   This legislation will apply to a majority of existing trusts and also any newly formed trusts.

Current trusts will have 18 months to ensure they are compliant with the new Act.

New Obligations

• Trustees are required to keep the core documents i.e. Trust Deed, variations, records of the trust property, written contracts and accounting records.
• Beneficiaries must be told if they are a beneficiary of the trust and they must be regularly provided with information about the trust without them needing to request it.
• Trustees are obligated to ensure trust compliance.

How do these obligations affect you?

• Compliance duties will increase.  This may mean that the time and cost for administering trusts may outweigh the benefits of the trust.
• Trust transparency will increase – this may have an impact on some trust owners who may prefer to keep some things private.

If you are a trustee or a trust settlor, you will need to ensure you are fulfilling your obligations from 30 January 2021.

What do you need to do?

Now is the perfect time to undertake a review of your trust.

Contact MWIS Lawyers and make an appointment to make sure that your trust is:

1. Compliant
2. Fit for purpose
3. Cost-effective