30.10.24
As parents of a disabled or vulnerable child, you face unique challenges that can feel overwhelming at times, especially when it comes to planning for the future. One common concern that often arises is the question: “What if I have no one to be a Trustee for my child’s Trust?”.
Parents and carers can find themselves in a situation where they feel they lack a suitable person to take on the Trustee role. This could be due to various factors: a small family, strained relationships, or simply not having someone with the financial acumen or willingness to take on such a responsibility. Frequently, we hear parents share that they ‘do not wish to burden’ a sibling with this responsibility either. This is a common concern, but one that shouldn’t deter you from planning.
Understanding the Role of a Trustee
Before delving into solutions, let’s clarify the role of a Trustee. A Trustee is an individual or organisation responsible for managing and safeguarding the assets placed in a Trust for the benefit of your disabled child. This includes making financial decisions, ensuring compliance with legal requirements, and acting in the best interests of your child. The ideal Trustee is someone you trust implicitly, but what if you don’t have someone suitable in your life?
Exploring Professional Trustees
If your family and personal connections don’t provide a viable option for Trusteeship, you may wish to consider instructing a professional Trustee. Organisations specialising in Trusts for disabled individuals, such as Renaissance Trust, can step in to fulfil this role, and while this may involve costs, it can offer peace of mind knowing that your child’s Trust is managed by experienced professionals who understand the intricacies of such arrangements.
There are a number of benefits of using Professional Trustees, including:
- Expertise – They have a deep understanding of the legal, financial, and emotional aspects of managing Trusts.
- Impartiality – A professional Trustee can remain unbiased, which can be particularly beneficial in complex family dynamics.
- Continuity – Professional firms can ensure that the Trust management continues even if individual staff members change.
Some professional Trustees – including the team at Renaissance Trust – can act alongside a so-called ‘lay Trustee’. This might be an attractive option where a family may be concerned about overly burdening a sibling, and so a hybrid approach can be taken. The professional Trustee will take the lead on compliance and tax issues, and then the lay Trustee acts as the ‘feet on the ground’ day to day, and feeding back to the Trustee/s what funds should spent on.
How can we help?
The journey of planning for your disabled child’s future can be an emotional one. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed or anxious about who will fulfil the role of Trustee, but there are different options that are available.
Our friendly and supportive team can provide an experienced sounding board for your ideas and concerns. We will also give you information about the role of the Trustees so that you can speak with your possible Trustees armed with the knowledge about what they will need to do, or know what to expect of any Professional Trustee that you engage.
If you would like to talk to us about your circumstances and how we can help please contact us, we’d love to hear from you.
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