Compensation And Protection For Clients In Sussex Including Brighton, Uckfield And Seaford
What Is A Personal Injury Trust?
There are many different types of trust. If the trust fund consists of compensation obtained as a result of a personal injury claim, it is a personal injury trust.
You can choose a form of trust that suits your particular circumstances; often the form of the trust is a simple one whereby you are able to call for the money at any time.
Why You Might Need A Trust
To safe guard state benefits
Many benefits are means tested, so if you receive compensation it would be taken into account when assessing eligibility for benefits, unless the compensation was in a personal injury trust. Monies in a personal injury trust are disregarded capital for the purpose of means testing. Even if you are not currently receiving benefits, you may need to in the future. Setting up a personal injury trust provides peace of mind.
To protect against care home fees
If you do not want your compensation to pay for care home fees, either now or in the future, it is important to place the compensation in a personal injury trust. Only in this way will it be disregarded for the purpose of working out whether or not you need to contribute towards care home fees.
Divorce
A personal injury trust can help you to prevent your compensation being taken into account if you get divorced.
Financial independence and peace of mind
Many people come under pressure from well-meaning (and not-so-well-meaning) family and friends, who offer advice about how to spend the compensation. Some people face pressure from others who think that the compensation is as much for their benefit as it is for the injured person! If your compensation is in a trust, the trustees are the ones who need to be approached about any spending. They may find it easier than you to reject unsuitable or unethical suggestions for spending your money. In this way your trustees can protect your interests.
If you are unused to having a large sum of money to look after and invest, a trust means you will have trustees who will assume that role on your behalf. They will be able to advise you as and when necessary.
Court of Protection cases
Some personal injury claimants come under the Court of Protection. Compensation monies are often paid into the Court of Protection and monies held by the Court will be disregarded for means testing purposes. It may be far more convenient to set up a trust; the funds are then accessible without an application to the Court and for many claimants there is a real desire to ‘move on’ with their lives and leave the court system behind.
These are just a few of the reasons why you need to consider a trust. There are others. Rix & Kay will advise on individual circumstances.
Compensation And Protection
When To Set Up A Trust
Ideally a trust should be set up before any money is received. Interim payments can trigger a need for a trust, so it’s advisable to consider the option early on and certainly before any compensation is received. For example, if you are receiving means tested benefits the receipt of even an interim payment could mean a loss of those benefits.
What You Need Do To Set Up A Trust?
Good legal advice is needed as there are many traps for those who are not experts in this field. Rix & Kay has a specialist team that can provide good compensation protection advice to enable you to do the best for you and your family.
How Much Will It Cost?
The aim of the trust is to save you money, so the cost of setting up the trust always takes that into account. Everyone’s needs are different, so we offer a range of fees. There is no one fee that suits all, as some people will require a very straightforward trust and others will need something that takes into account complex circumstances. A costs estimate can be provided at instruction.
To provide peace of mind, payment of any fees for setting up the trust can be met when the compensation is paid and not before.
