Trust Reviews
A Clear, Expert Look At Whether Your Trust Is Still Doing Its Job
Trusts are long-term arrangements — many run for decades. Over that time, almost everything around the trust changes: the family it was set up to support, the tax and legal framework it operates under, and the financial environment its assets sit in. The trust itself, by contrast, often goes unchanged for years.
A trust review is a periodic, structured stocktake of whether the trust is still doing what it was set up to do — and whether it remains the most appropriate structure for what the family actually needs now. It's one of the most valuable but consistently overlooked parts of trust planning.
Why Trust Reviews Matter
Most trust problems we're asked to untangle are not the result of bad original advice. They're the result of a trust that was set up properly but has been left to run for years, sometimes decades, while the world around it has moved on. Without a periodic review:
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The trust may no longer reflect the family it was created for.
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Valuable tax planning opportunities may pass unnoticed.
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Compliance obligations may quietly fall behind, exposing trustees to personal liability.
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The trust may continue to absorb administrative costs while no longer serving its original purpose.
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A change in the law may have created risks or possibilities the trustees haven't been told about.
The cost of a periodic review is small. The cost of not reviewing — discovered years later — can be substantial.
When a Trust Review Is Particularly Worth Doing
Some reviews are scheduled simply because it's been a few years since the last one. Others are prompted by a specific event. The triggers we most often see include:
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A significant change in the family — a birth, death, marriage, divorce, or a beneficiary becoming vulnerable.
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The sale of a major asset held by the trust, or a substantial change in its value.
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A trustee leaving, retiring, or wanting to be replaced — particularly where the succession of trustees hasn't been thought through.
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Approaching a ten-year anniversary, when discretionary and other "relevant property" trusts face periodic inheritance tax charges.
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A change in the law — most notably, the inheritance tax reforms coming into effect from April 2027, which materially alter the planning landscape for many family trusts.
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Concerns that the trust isn't working — that beneficiaries' needs have outgrown the structure or that obligations aren't being met.
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It has simply been too long. Many trusts haven't been reviewed since they were set up. If yours falls into that group, a review is overdue.
For a trust that's never been formally reviewed, the right time is usually now.
What a Trust Review Actually Involves
A trust review is more thorough than a routine annual administrative check. It's a deliberate, expert appraisal of every aspect of the trust against where the family stands today.
A typical review will cover:
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Purpose. Is the trust still serving the goals it was set up to achieve? Have the family's circumstances or priorities changed in ways that change what the trust should be doing?
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Structure. Is the type of trust still the most appropriate, or have changes in tax law, family composition or asset profile made a different approach more efficient or more protective?
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The trust deed. Is the wording still fit for purpose, given today's family situation and modern interpretations of language such as "children", "issue" or "spouse"? Are there ambiguities that could cause dispute?
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Trustees. Are the right people in the right roles? Is succession planned for? Are family trustees properly supported, and is there enough professional input?
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Investments. Is the investment policy still appropriate to the beneficiaries' needs and the trust's time horizon? Is the policy properly documented and being followed?
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Tax position. Are all reliefs being used? Is the trust positioned correctly for upcoming periodic charges and any exit charges that may arise? Are there any new planning opportunities?
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Compliance. Is the trust correctly registered with HMRC's Trust Registration Service, with all updates and returns up to date? Are trustees protected from the personal penalties that can otherwise apply?
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Beneficiary alignment. Are the current beneficiaries the right people, given how the family has evolved? Is the letter of wishes still consistent with current intentions?
The output is a clear, written summary of where the trust stands — what's working, what isn't, what's at risk, and what we'd recommend acting on.
What a Review Can Uncover - and What Families Often Gain
In practice, a good trust review almost always identifies something worth acting on. Common findings include:
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Unused tax reliefs that could be claimed prospectively.
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Outstanding TRS or HMRC obligations that need bringing up to date — often before the trustees become aware of them.
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Drafting in the deed that no longer reflects the family or current law.
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A trust structure that could be modernised or wound up if it's no longer serving its purpose.
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Strategic opportunities to use the trust more actively to support beneficiaries, rather than letting it sit static.
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Risks that family trustees aren't fully aware of — particularly around personal liability and current compliance requirements.
The reassurance, for a family that's confident everything is in order, is often as valuable as anything else. "We've checked, properly, and the trust is fine" is a useful answer too.
The 2027 Reforms Make a Review Particularly Timely
For many families, the most pressing reason to commission a trust review right now is the package of inheritance tax reforms coming into effect from April 2027 – particularly the bringing of unused pension funds within the scope of inheritance tax and changes to Business Property Relief. These reforms materially change how trusts fit into the wider family planning picture, and they make assumptions baked into many existing trust structures worth re-examining.
A review now gives families time to act on what's discovered, rather than discovering it once the new rules are already in force.
Talk to Use About Reviewing Your Trust
If you have an existing trust — whether set up years ago or more recently — and want a clear, expert view of where it stands, we'd be glad to help. A trust review is normally a single, defined piece of work with a clear scope and cost, agreed in advance.