Monday, June 27, 2011

Lineal descendant trusts

One of the other queries that has been raised following the last couple of posts concerns lineal descendant trusts.

There are a number of names in the marketplace for this form of trust structure, however in very broad terms, these types of trusts involve narrowing the range of potential beneficiaries that might otherwise be expected under a family trust.

In particular, the range of beneficiaries is often limited to the direct lineal descendants of the primary beneficiaries of the trust.

As has been mentioned a number of times in earlier posts, it is always critical to read the trust deed and lineal descendant trusts are another example of this rule. One of the key issues to be mindful of in this regard is that some trusts 'reserve' only the capital for lineal descendants, while still allowing very wide distribution powers for income.

Next week, we will look at a very practical, post Bamford, implication of lineal descendant trusts that only limit capital distributions.

Until next week.