Parking Trusts: it’s not too late to be prepared

It isn’t a ground-breaking revelation that the last few years have been politically and economically rocky, and as a result, people have been riding out the turbulence rather than making decisions that could end up being risky. But how much more waiting can we do? And should we wait until the world settles down to take positive action for the future, particularly regarding wealth? We could be waiting a long time.

Holding off on making key decisions regarding wealth protection planning may have been the order of the day, but doing nothing could be disastrous, particularly if subsequent changes require urgent action. A risk-free step is needed, which will enable quick action to be taken if and when required. That is why Valla has developed ​“Parking Trusts”.

A Parking Trust can be established now for minimal cost with the intention of leaving it dormant or ​“parked” until such time as more is known about the uncertain events that concern you. These unknown factors might be anything from changes in the political climate within your home country, uncertainty surrounding the outcome of Brexit, to changes in tax rules / personal tax status, civil unrest, or simply planning for a future family event.

Why now?

The important compliance requirements which need to be satisfied to allow a trust to be set up don’t always interface well with a speedy establishment. That is why VALLA believes it is sensible to start now rather than waiting until it is too late. The advantage of the Valla Parking Trust is that it allows for the appropriate structure to be put in place in good time ahead of any potential event, without the downside of the ongoing costs whilst it remains dormant.

VALLA believe that clients and their advisers are deterred from establishing a trust in advance as charges can be prohibitive for something you are doing ​“just in case”. To allay this concern, we can create a Parking Trust for a one-off fee for which we undertake all due diligence on the settlor and one named beneficiary. We will also draft a standard discretionary trust, accept £100 as the initial trust property and open a bank account for the trust.

Another advantage of a VALLA Parking Trust is that we can cover all of the trustee and responsibility fees for a year post-creation or until such time as further assets are added to enable the trust to become fully operational. Equally, trusts not utilised within a year of the establishment can be closed without cost.

In short, with so many unpredictable external factors and in the increasingly complex world of regulation that surrounds the offshore industry, you need to plan ahead. Parking Trusts are a sensible and risk-free way of doing this.