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Legal

As of now the trustee of my trust is a limited company. Two of the directors are also directors of another trust & under proposed new law if property is involved they may be classed as property specultors and want to resign. Do I still need the limited company??

Well, first a disclaimer - I'm not a lawyer - I suspect you need to talk to one of them. Just be aware that lawyers can have different opinions - even on trusts. I have a trust and sought out some legal advice on it - including trustee options. As well a lot of clients have trusts - for people in business my POV is you should have a good reason not to have a trust to protect your assets, etc.

As for specific answers to your query - you haven't really provided a lot of detail - e.g. why you have a trust, and what other factors may be relevant.

It seems there are three general options for trustees: one person, a team, or a company. I personally favoured the latter - but when I talked with my lawyer, he gave me some reasons why that wasn't necessarily the best for me. I still have my doubts - but eventually accepted his advice. Sadly I cannot remember now the detailed reasoning.

As far as one person vs a team is concerned, I know one lawyer who argues quite well that one person can do the job. However, knowing how many trusts are run, I am convinced that not having an independent trustee is asking for trouble. Having the same person as trustee, settlor and beneficiary is (IMNSHO) asking for the trust to be challenged.

So I feel a company as trustee could be worthwhile - but you need detailed legal advice on the implications for you. Sorry this isn't a black and white answer - but obviously you think there's a benefit to having a trust - so making sure it can't be ruled a sham is surely worthwhile.