Paralegal
Private Clients
Cornwall
14-20K
Law Degree
Future Training Contract.
Our client a very reputable law firm based in the SWUK are seeking to appoint a law graduate or an experienced law firm Paralegal to work in very a busy Private Client’s department.
This opportunity could lead to a golden Training Contract if you work hard and prove that you are the candidate that will become a vital fee earner and team player.
Ideally we are seeking a law graduate that has attained a 1st Class Law Degree Classification, or a time served law firm, Paralegal.
Private Client’s experience would be exceptionally ideal.
These positions are extremely rare as we all know you will be working along-side professionals that are involved in the following work:
Private Client and Trusts Work:
Trust and Private Client Estate Planning Lawyers work includes:
• Wills, making legacies & will trusts;
• Pilot, spousal bypass and lifetime trusts;
• Inheritance tax planning;
• Letters of exclusion;
• Memorandum of wishes;
• Advance decisions (living wills);
• Lasting powers of attorney;
• General powers of attorney;
• Registration of powers of attorney;
• Parental responsibility agreements;
• Document storage & will register;
• Pre-paid funeral plans;
• Specialist tax advice;
• Business succession planning;
• Estate administration & probate services;
• Foreign property purchase & wills;
• Foreign legal services.
A trust is a legal arrangement where one or more ‘trustees’ are made legally responsible for holding assets. The assets – such as land, money, buildings, shares or even antiques – are placed in trust for the benefit of one or more ‘beneficiaries’.
The trustees are responsible for managing the trust and carrying out the wishes of the person who has put the assets into trust (the ‘settlor’). The settlor’s wishes for the trust are usually written in their will or set out in a legal document called ‘the trust deed.
Trusts may be set up for a number of reasons, for example:
• To control and protect family assets;
• When someone is too young to handle their affairs;
• When someone can’t handle their affairs because they are incapacitated;
• To pass on money or property while you are still alive;
• To pass on money or assets when you die under the terms of your will – known as a ‘will trust.
• Under the rules of inheritance that apply when someone dies without leaving a valid will.
There are several types of family trusts and each type of trust may be taxed differently. There are other types of ‘non-family’ trusts. These are set up for many reasons. For example, to operate as a charity, or to provide a means for employers to create a pension scheme for their staff.
Cleverly engineered hybrid structures include: Heritage, charitable or business-related trusts and ‘Trust property’ is a phrase often used for the assets held in a trust.
They can include:
• Money;
• Investments;
• Land or buildings;
• Other assets, such as paintings, furniture or jewellery – sometimes referred to as ‘chattels’.
The cash and investments held in a trust are also called the trust ‘capital’ or ‘fund’. This capital or fund may produce income, such as interest on savings or dividends on shares. The land and buildings may produce rental income. Assets may also be sold producing gains for the trust. The way income is taxed depends on the type of income and the type of trust.
Trust Creation:
A trust is created when someone gives assets to other people, the trustees, to hold, not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of others – the beneficiaries. Trusts can be set up during a person’s lifetime or on their death via their Will or Intestacy. In whatever situation, the trustees then become liable for managing the assets on behalf of the beneficiaries – the Trust Administration.
There are a variety of trusts which trust lawyers can create, including:
• Bare Trusts;
• Life Interest Trusts;
• Discretionary Trusts;
• Charitable Trusts.
Trust Lawyers advise and assist with:
• Understanding which of these trusts is most suitable;
• Completing the necessary legal formalities to ensure that the trust is valid;
• Understanding and reducing your tax liability through the creation of trusts;
• Removing or appointing trustees;
• Varying existing trusts;
• Dealing with contentious disputes;
• Choosing trustees.
Trust Administration:
Once the trust has been correctly established, the trustees have an on-going duty to administer the trust in the best interests of the beneficiaries. Trust lawyers and trust administrators can assist in the trust administration and ensure compliance with all duties and regulations imposed on trusts and trustees.
Trust Lawyers and administrators routinely assist with:
• Record keeping, including trustees’ meetings and resolutions;
• Tax returns;
• Annual accounts;
• Ensuring tax efficiency regarding income and payments out of the trust, and the structure of the trust itself;
• Advising on trustees’ duties and responsibilities.
Estate Planning:
Estate planning law governs the laws, procedures and practices associated with planning for one’s estate in the event that he/she becomes incapacitated and for when he/she is deceased. It encompasses the roles and activities of Executors and Administrators; creation and administration of wills and last testaments; trusts and living trusts; probate; medical powers of attorney, DNR orders and advance directives; associated tax issues; and various other related topics.
The laws governing most of these areas are created primarily on the state level and therefore vary greatly. The Uniform Probate Code (UPC) has sought to clarify, unify and modernize these laws throughout the UK but to date; only about 30% have completely adopted the Code, while some of the remaining state have only implemented parts of it. Estate related tax issues, such as gift tax laws and federal estate tax, and various college savings plans are regulated by the UK regulatory system.
Estate Planning Lawyers have great depth coverage, knowledge and understanding of estate planning law, with detailed definitions and links to various resources. An Estate Planning Lawyer also offers resources, information and links covering the Fundamentals of Estate Planning; Types of wills and testaments; types of trusts; property that does not pass via a will; and other estate planning issues.
Discretionary Trusts:
In a discretionary trust, the trustees are the legal owners of any assets – such as money, land or buildings – held in the trust. These assets are known as ‘trust property’. The trustees are responsible for running the trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries. The trustees have ‘discretion’ about how to use the trust’s income. They may also have discretion about how to distribute the trust’s capital. The trustees may also be able to ‘accumulate’ income – add it to capital. See the section below on accumulation trusts.
Trustees may be able to decide:
• How much income and or capital is paid out, if any;
• Which beneficiary to make payments to;
• How often the payments are made;
• What, if any, conditions to impose on the recipients;
Discretionary trusts are sometimes set up to put capital aside for:
• A future need that may not be known yet, for example a grandchild that may require more financial assistance than other beneficiaries at some point in their life;
• Beneficiaries who are perhaps not capable or responsible enough to deal with money by themselves.
Under the terms of the deed that creates the trust, there may be situations when the trustees have to use income for the benefit of particular beneficiaries. However, they may still retain discretion about how and when to pay. The extent of the trustees’ discretion depends on the terms of the trust deed.
Accumulation Trust:
In an accumulation trust, the trustees can accumulate income within the trust, that is add it to the trust capital. They will often do so until the beneficiary becomes legally entitled to the trust assets (such as money, land or buildings) or the income produced from the assets. Income that has been ‘accumulated’ becomes part of the capital of the trust. The trustees may also pay income at their discretion.
Accumulation trusts should not be confused with ‘accumulation and maintenance trusts’. Accumulation and maintenance trusts are a type of trust that qualified for favourable inheritance tax treatment. The finance tct 2006 ended this treatment and made provisions so that accumulation and maintenance trusts became either ’18 to 25 trusts’ or were moved into the new ‘relevant property’ trusts.
Trustees are responsible for declaring and paying Income Tax on income received by the trust. They do this on form SA900 Trust and Estate Tax Return each year. In both discretionary trusts and accumulation trusts, income is taxed at the special trust rates, apart from the first £1,000 of trust income, which is known as the ‘standard rate band’. Income that falls within the standard rate band is taxed at lower rates, depending on the nature of the income – as shown in the tables below.
However, if the person who put the assets into the trust (the settlor) has more than one trust, the £1,000 standard rate band is divided by the number of trusts they have. If the settlor has more than five trusts, the standard rate band is £200 for each trust.
When trustees make a discretionary payment of income it carries a tax credit at the trust rate (currently 50 per cent). This means it is treated in the hands of the beneficiary as if income tax has been already paid at 50 per cent. The beneficiary might be able to claim some or all of the tax back if they’re a non-taxpayer or a 20 or 40 per cent taxpayer.
Trustees of a discretionary trust – or an accumulation trust where they also have the power to make discretionary payments – need to make sure that they’ve paid enough tax to cover the tax credit given to the beneficiary.
They do this using a process called the ‘tax pool’, which keeps a record of all discretionary income payments made by the trustees, and the tax the trustees have paid. Different rules apply for payments to beneficiaries of settlor interested discretionary trusts.
Capital gains tax is a tax on the gain in the value of assets such as shares, land or buildings. A trust may have to pay Capital Gains Tax if assets are sold, given away or exchanged (disposed of) and they’ve gone up in value since being put into trust. The trust will only have to pay the tax if the assets have increased in value above a certain allowance known as the ‘annual exempt amount’.
Trustees are responsible for paying any Capital Gains Tax due. Beneficiaries aren’t taxed on any trust gains and don’t get credit for any tax paid by the trustees.
Discretionary or accumulation trusts and Inheritance Tax:
There may be an inheritance tax charge when:
• Assets are put into a discretionary trust;
• A discretionary trust reaches a ten-year anniversary;
• Assets are taken out of a discretionary trust or the trust ceases.
Sometimes inheritance tax uses different terminology for trusts. Discretionary trusts may fall within what are known as ‘relevant property’ trusts. Discretionary or accumulation trusts with vulnerable beneficiaries.
A discretionary or an accumulation trust may be used to help a ‘vulnerable beneficiary’. A vulnerable beneficiary is someone who is:
• Mentally or physically disabled;
• A child below the age of 18 who has lost a parent through death.
A trust set up for the benefit of a vulnerable beneficiary may qualify for special tax treatment.
To contact us and be introduced to our law firm client please follow the instructions listed below.
To discuss on the telephone, please contact Jonny Scott-Slater or Ashley Armstrong: 01872 274227 – 07724760904 – 07490445449.
Mail your CV 2 talentedlawyers@aol.com
Confidentiality is always assured.
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