The bare necessities of IHT trust plans

Much of the column last year was taken up with looking at how the UK changes to the inheritance tax (IHT) treatment of trusts affected flexible IHT planning tools offered by insurers. As a result of the changes, many insurers, including Friends Provident International, have now launched bare trust plans into the market. A bare, or absolute, trust is one where the trustee holds the trust property and any income arising for the absolute benefit of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. Unlike flexible trusts, the trustee has no powers to withhold money from the beneficiary once they are over the...