Direct Access Barrister

Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

Step-by-step guide · follow in order

Your trust: how to sign, witness and register it

This guide tells you, in order, what each person needs to do to bring your trust into effect: where to sign, who must witness each signature, and how to register the trust with HM Revenue & Customs and (where the trust holds property) with HM Land Registry. Follow the steps in the order set out. Doing them out of order can make a document invalid and you may have to start again.

This guide explains the steps. It is not advice on whether the trust is right for you; that advice is given separately. If anything here does not match your documents, stop and contact us before signing.

✎ To be completed for this trust — your trust details

Name of trust

Date of trust deed

Settlor

Trustees

Property in the trust

Title number

Is the trust taxable? (see Part 4) Registration deadline

Who is who

The settlor is the person who creates the trust and puts property into it.

The trustees are the people who legally own and manage the trust property for the beneficiaries. The settlor is often also one of the trustees. There can be up to four trustees of land.

The beneficiaries are the people who can benefit from the trust. In a discretionary trust the trustees decide who benefits, when, and by how much, from within a class of beneficiaries named in the deed.

A witness is an independent adult who watches a person sign and then signs themselves to confirm it. A witness must be 18 or over, must not be signing the document themselves, and should not be the husband, wife, civil partner or close family of the person they are witnessing. The same witness should not witness the settlor and a trustee where that can be avoided. A beneficiary should never witness.

Signing the documents — the right order

Your trust comes into effect as a deed. Every person signing does so “as a deed”, which means a witness must watch them sign and then sign underneath, adding their own name, address and occupation. Use a black pen. Sign in this order:

Order

Who signs

What they sign / how witnessed

The Settlor (and all Trustees) — the Trust Deed

Each person signs the execution page of the trust deed in front of their own witness. The witness signs beside them and adds name, address and occupation.

The Settlor — the Transfer (Form TR1)

Where the trust holds property, the Settlor signs the TR1 as transferor, witnessed. This transfers the property to the trustees.

The Trustees — the Transfer (Form TR1)

Because the trustees are taking the property on trust (panel 10 completed), each trustee must also sign the TR1, witnessed.

The Trustees — Trustee Resolution and Minutes

The trustees sign the initial resolution (as a deed, witnessed) and the minutes of the first meeting (signature only, no witness needed).

The Trustees — Restriction (Form RX1)

The trustees sign the RX1 applying for a restriction to protect the trust on the register. This is lodged with the TR1, not before it.

Golden rule: nobody signs the next document until the one above it is signed. The deed must be dated only when the last person has signed.

Optional module — delete if not applicable

If your trust gives someone a life interest

Some trusts give a named person (often the settlor or a surviving spouse) the right to the income of the trust, or to live in a property, for life. That person is called the life tenant. The life tenant does not sign anything extra, but the trustees must keep a record that the life interest exists and must not deal with the property in a way that defeats it without the steps set out in the deed. If your trust has a life interest, the registration answers in Part 4 may differ — a trust with a qualifying life interest can have different tax treatment — so check the bespoke box before registering.

Optional module — delete if not applicable

If your trust gives a right to reside

Some trusts let a named person live in a property for a fixed period (for example, for a number of months after the settlor’s death) on condition that they insure it and pay the outgoings. If your deed contains a right to reside, the person with that right should be given a copy of the relevant clause, and the trustees should keep evidence that the conditions (insurance, council tax, utilities) are being met. This does not change the signing order above.

Optional module — delete if not applicable

If your trust names specific beneficiaries or gives specific instructions

Where the deed names particular beneficiaries to take fixed shares, or contains a letter or statement of wishes, keep those documents with the deed. A statement of wishes is not signed as a deed and is not binding on the trustees; it guides them. Do not send the statement of wishes to HM Land Registry. It is kept privately with the trust papers.

After signing — keep the papers safe

—Keep the signed, dated trust deed as the master document. Do not staple anything to it that the Land Registry will need; send loose copies instead.
—Make a certified copy of the signed deed for HM Land Registry (you keep the original). Any trustee can certify a copy by writing “I certify this is a true copy of the original”, signing and dating it.
—Note the date of the deed in the bespoke box on page 1. Several deadlines run from that date.

Register the trust with HMRC (Trust Registration Service)

Almost every express trust must be registered online with HM Revenue & Customs on the Trust Registration Service (TRS). It is the trustees’ legal duty to do this, and the trust cannot get a tax reference without it. The trustees choose one of them to be the “lead trustee” who registers and is HMRC’s main contact.

Which deadline applies to you

90 days

Trust that holds UK land or is otherwise newly registrable: register within 90 days of the trust being created.

31 Jan

Trust with an Inheritance Tax liability (such as a lifetime gift into trust above the tax-free band): register on or before 31 January in the tax year after the one in which the liability arose.

Where more than one deadline could apply, use the earliest. Enter your deadline in the bespoke box on page 1 so it is not missed.

How to register

1Go to www.gov.uk/guidance/register-a-trust-as-a-trustee and sign in with (or create) a Government Gateway account for the lead trustee.
2Choose whether the trust is taxable or non-taxable (see the bespoke box; if in doubt, ask us). A taxable trust will be issued a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR); a non-taxable trust gets a Unique Reference Number (URN).
3Enter the trust details: the trust name and date, the settlor, every trustee, and the beneficiaries (or the class of beneficiaries for a discretionary trust), and details of what is in the trust.
4Submit, and save the confirmation. If asked by a bank or HM Land Registry for proof, the lead trustee can download a proof-of-registration letter from the trust’s TRS account.
5Keep the TRS details up to date: report any change of trustee, beneficiary or contact details within 90 days. A taxable trust must also confirm the register is up to date each year by 31 January.

Important: registering on the TRS does not pay any tax. If a lifetime gift into the trust is immediately chargeable to Inheritance Tax, a separate Inheritance Tax account (form IHT100) and any tax payment are required. We will tell you if this applies to your trust.

✎ To be completed — registration specifics for this trust

Taxable or non-taxable

TRS deadline (earliest)

Lead trustee

IHT100 required? If yes, due date

Register the trust at HM Land Registry

This Part applies where the trust holds a property. Until the Land Registry updates the register, the trustees are not the registered owners and the trust is not protected against later dealings. Do this promptly after the deed is signed.

If you are using a solicitor or conveyancer, they will lodge this for you online and you can skip the mechanics below. If you are doing it yourselves, note that individuals cannot use the Land Registry online portal: you must apply by post.

What to send

—Form AP1 — the covering application that asks the Land Registry to change the register. List the applications in priority order: the transfer (TR1) first, then the restriction (RX1).
—The signed, dated Form TR1 (the transfer to the trustees).
—The signed Form RX1 (the application for a restriction) together with a certified copy of the trust deed.
—The Land Transaction Tax certificate from the Welsh Revenue Authority for property in Wales (or the SDLT5 certificate from HMRC for property in England), if a return is required. A gift into trust for no money is often nil, but a return may still be needed — check before you lodge.
—Proof of identity for each trustee: because no conveyancer is acting, complete Form ID1 for each individual (this usually means attending a Post Office or having identity verified as the form directs).
—The Land Registry fee, by cheque payable to “HM Land Registry”. The fee depends on the value of the property; check the current amount with the Land Registry fee calculator on gov.uk or by calling 0300 006 0411.

How to send it

1Download Form AP1 and Form ID1 from www.gov.uk/government/publications/change-the-register-ap1.
2Complete the AP1: council tax authority, title number, the two applications in priority order (transfer, then restriction), the property value, the applicant trustees’ names, and a correspondence address. Add an email address so the Land Registry acknowledges receipt.
3Put the bundle together: AP1 on top, then TR1, then RX1 with the certified copy deed, the tax certificate (if any), the ID1 forms, and the cheque. Do not staple; send as loose pages.
4Post it to the Land Registry address for applications shown on gov.uk (currently HM Land Registry Citizen Centre, PO Box 74, Gloucester GL14 9BB — confirm the current address before posting).
5Wait for confirmation. The Land Registry will write to the correspondence address. If they raise a query (a “requisition”), answer it promptly or the application can be cancelled.

Why the restriction matters: the restriction tells the world that the property is held on trust, so it cannot later be sold or mortgaged without complying with the trust. Lodging it with the transfer protects the trust from day one.

Final checklist

Trust deed signed by settlor and all trustees, each witnessed, and dated once everyone has signed.
TR1 signed by settlor and all trustees, witnessed.
Trustee resolution signed as a deed (witnessed); minutes signed.
RX1 signed by the trustees.
Certified copy of the deed taken for the Land Registry; original kept safe.
Trust registered on the TRS within the deadline; confirmation saved.
IHT100 dealt with if required.
AP1 bundle (TR1 + RX1 + certified deed + tax certificate + ID1 + fee) posted to the Land Registry.
Registration confirmation received and filed with the trust papers.

If you are unsure about any step, contact me before you sign or send anything. It is far easier to get it right first time than to unpick a mistake later.

Barraj Legal — a trading style of Rhys Johns, a barrister authorised & regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Sophia House, 28 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 9LJ