You take your vehicle in to get a warrant of fitness check every 6 or 12 months, but how often do you do the same for your Family Trust or your estate planning
It is important that you regularly review your Trust to make sure it’s fit for purpose and still meeting your needs. Many Kiwis have a Family Trust which likely owns at least the home they live in, and sometimes several assets. When was the last time you met with your lawyer to discuss your Trust and made sure your Trust is still right for you?
It may be that your Trust documentation needs to be updated, for example:
- remove family members who are no longer meant to receive any assets from your Trust or provide for new ones that now should
- alter the people controlling the Trust and making decisions (being the trustees)
- include additional trust documents, such as a Memorandum of Wishes, to reflect your wishes on what should happen to your trust assets and who will be in control of it, when you pass away
- amend provisions in the Trust Deed that are no longer accurate or warranted because of the provisions of the Trusts Act 2019.
Alongside this, your Will and Enduring Powers of Attorney should also be checked to make sure you have the right people in the right roles so they will carry out your wishes if you are mentally incapable or have passed away. There is an interplay between your Trust and your Will when you die, and it is vital that the correct provisions are in your Will if you also have a Trust.
You may have even asked yourself - do I even need my trust anymore? Despite the press that “Trusts are dead”, there are still valid reasons for retaining a Trust in certain situations. Now is the perfect time to meet with your lawyer and discuss this query.
The Private Client Team at Norris Ward McKinnon are happy to meet with you in either ourHamilton, or newly opened Cambridge office, to complete a warrant of fitness for your trust
Please get in touch with Glenda Graham, Partner in our Private Client Team, or Emma O’Keeffe, Senior Solicitor; they are more than happy to help.
Glenda Graham and Emma O'Keeffe are part of our Private Client team at Norris Ward McKinnon.
