A LOCAL expert says that families with a will or trust that they haven’t looked at for years may be sitting on a financial timebomb.
Ray Best from Wokingham business Wills, Tax & Trusts Ltd says people often don’t know what being a trustee entails, and can find themselves in a financial and legal tangle as a result.
“My father died at a very young age, leaving my family in a mess,” explains Ray, “so I understand, and really do care about protecting families.
“We’ve been contacted by several local families with outdated wills or trusts.
“These were drafted on a set-and-forget basis, and now they are paying the cost.
“Essentially, people are unknowingly sitting on financial ‘time bombs’ simply because they inherited a document they don’t understand.”
In his recently published book, Pensions Betrayed, Ray explains the importance of inheritance planning.
Using stores, he cuts through legal jargon to help families understand the issues.
Here, he explains how a long-ago trust might leave a Berkshire family in limbo:
“It starts with a routine Sunday afternoon tidy-up in a leafy corner of Wokingham,” he begins.
Katrina, 31, is clearing out an old filing cabinet at her father’s home when she pulls out a thick, yellowed document tied with faded red ribbon.
“Hey Dad, what’s this?” she asks.
“Oh, that’s your grandfather’s will,” her father replies, barely looking up from his paper.
This casual exchange marks the start of a legal headache that highlights a growing problem across the UK: the financial and legal time bombs hidden in decades-old wills.
As Katrina skims the formal, legal language of the document, several phrases catch her eye.
“But it says you are a trustee, Dad, along with Uncle Robert,” Katrina says. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” her father admits. “It was written a long time ago.”
The text details four properties to be passed to Katrina and her two brothers upon their reaching the age of 25.
“I think they’re in a trust,” her father says, straining to recall details from nearly two decades prior.
“So do they stay in there forever?” Katrina asks. “I’m 31 now.”
“I can’t remember,” her father replies. “It was so long ago.”
“Katrina’s family is far from alone,” explains Ray.
“Legal experts warn that thousands of British families are sitting on old wills containing trusts that have been completely forgotten by the people appointed to manage them.”
When a person creates a will, they often set up trusts to protect assets for minors or future generations.
The individuals managing these assets are called trustees.
They hold a strict legal duty to look after the property or money according to the rules written in the will.
“In Katrina’s case, her grandfather wanted his grandchildren to inherit the properties at age 25,” explains Ray.
“But because nobody acted when the siblings hit that milestone, the family now faces serious legal and financial risks.”
Leaving a trust unmanaged for years does not mean it simply disappears.
Instead, it creates a tangle of problems:
Tax Penalties:
Trusts are subject to complex tax rules, including ten-year inheritance tax charges and capital gains tax.
Failing to declare these can lead to massive fines from HMRC.
Property Title Issues:
If the four properties are still legally held in the names of the trustees (or the deceased grandfather), selling or mortgaging them is impossible without a lengthy legal process to sort out the title deeds.
Breach of Trust:
Trustees have a legal obligation to act. By ignoring the trust, Katrina’s father and uncle have technically breached their duties, which may result in personal financial liability.
Family Disputes:
If one sibling wants their share of the property now, but the paperwork is stuck in limbo, it can cause severe friction between relatives.
“For families who find themselves in Katrina’s position, ignoring the paperwork will only make the eventual fallout more expensive,” Ray says.
“Experts advise that the first step is to locate the original deed and take it to a specialist, such as Wills, Tax & Trusts Ltd., in Wokingham.
“We will confirm whether the trust was ever formally registered, check the status of the properties at the Land Registry, and calculate any outstanding tax liabilities.”
For Katrina and her brothers, the discovery of the dusty document is the start of a long road to claiming what is rightfully theirs.
For her father, it is a sharp reminder that being named in a will carries responsibilities that time cannot erase.
For information, visit: willstaxandtrusts.com
