Direct Access Barrister
Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning
Private · to be kept with your trust or will
Your statement of wishesGuidance for your trustees or executors — not binding, but listened to
Where your trust or will gives your trustees a discretion, this statement tells them how you would like that discretion exercised. It is not legally binding — the trustees must still use their own judgement — but a clear, dated statement is taken seriously and helps them act as you would have wished. Complete what is relevant, leave the rest, and sign and date it at the end. Two things to remember. Keep this document with your trust deed or will, but separate from it — it is private and is not registered or sent to HM Land Registry. Because it is not binding, you can update it whenever your wishes change, without re-executing your trust or will.
01
About you and the arrangementYour full name
This relates to my
Dated
02
Who I would like to benefit, and in what orderWithin the class of beneficiaries named in the deed, who should the trustees think of first — and is there anyone they should be slow to benefit, and why?
03
How and when I would like them to benefitFor example: a particular age before capital is released; help with education, a first home or hardship; keeping a property in the family; or providing for a surviving partner for life.
04
Particular possessions or giftsSpecific items you would like a named person to have, and anything of sentimental rather than monetary value the trustees should know about.
05
Anything else the trustees should knowFamily circumstances, the reasons behind your wishes, or guidance for situations you can foresee. Context helps the trustees apply judgement as you would.
Signed
Date
A statement of wishes is not a will or a deed and does not need witnesses. It does not change your trust or will, and it is not binding on your trustees. Review it whenever your circumstances change, and tell us if your formal documents need to change too. |