Estate planning
Probate Trust
Holds assets so that they can be released to beneficiaries without waiting for a grant of probate, while remaining fully within the settlor’s estate for tax.
Glendalough, Co. Wicklow · Superbass, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who it is for
Clients wanting to avoid a probate delay for their family
What it does
- Settlor remains a beneficiary; no estate reduction
- Trustees can release funds immediately on death
- Useful where the estate includes illiquid assets
- Settlor retains full access during lifetime
The product in full
The Probate Trust does not reduce anybody’s estate, and it is not trying to. Its objective is access: it exists so that a family does not wait months for a grant of probate before they can pay for a funeral, meet a tax instalment, or keep a business running.
The mechanism is deliberately plain. The settlor transfers assets to trustees but remains a beneficiary, retaining full access during their lifetime. Because the settlor kept everything, there is no gift and no estate reduction — the trust property remains fully within the estate for tax. What changes is administration: on death the trustees already hold the asset and can release funds immediately, without waiting for the grant.
It is most valuable where the estate is illiquid. A family whose wealth is in a house, a farm or a private company can be asset-rich and cash-poor for the six to twelve months probate takes, and a liquid fund the trustees can release on the day is worth more than its face value in that period.
Literature
Product literature is issued to appointed intermediaries. Ask your underwriter, or request it through the enquiry form.
- Probate trust deedOn request
- Trustee guideOn request
How it works
What happens, in order
From the first enquiry to the point the cover, the contract or the facility is in place.
The settlor settles assets and stays a beneficiary
Bare or discretionary form. There is no gift, and no seven-year clock, because nothing has left the settlor’s reach.
The settlor retains full access during life
The trust property is available to them throughout, which is why there is no estate reduction.
On death, the trustees may release funds immediately
They already hold the asset. No grant of probate is needed for them to act.
The value is still reported in the estate
The trust does not change what the estate is worth, and the executors account for it in the ordinary way.
The numbers
A worked example
Illustrative arithmetic, so the shape of the product is visible rather than described. Nothing here is a quotation or a projection.
A £250,000 fund, and the months after a death
A representative timeline. The figures are illustrative; the delay is the ordinary experience of an estate that needs a grant.
- Fund held by the trustees
- £250,000
- Estate reduction achievedThe settlor retained full access — that is by design
- None
- Illustrative time to a grant of probate
- 7 months
- Funds available from the trust
- Within days of death
- What the family can meet in the meantime
- Funeral costs, tax on account, business running costs
- Estate assets requiring the grant
- House, farm, private company shares
Illustrative. Probate timescales vary widely with the estate and the jurisdiction, and this trust does nothing about the timescale — it puts a liquid fund outside the queue. It confers no tax advantage of any kind, and the copy is emphatic about that because a structure sold on the wrong benefit is a complaint waiting to happen.
Where the money is, before and after death
The illustrative estate above, split by whether a grant of probate is needed to reach it.
View these figures as a table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Held in the probate trust — Releasable by the trustees within days | £250k |
| Estate assets needing a grant — House, farm and company shares | £1,150k |
Suitability
Where the Probate Trust fits
The cases it answers, the cases it does not, and what an underwriter needs before quoting.
It is the right answer when
- Families who would face a cash squeeze while probate is obtained.
- Estates whose value is mostly illiquid — property, land, private company shares.
- A client who wants to keep full access and is not seeking an estate reduction.
Look at something else when
- Any client whose objective is reducing the estate — this trust does not do that, and should never be presented as if it might.
- A client who wants the beneficiaries to have entitlements now.
What we need to quote
- 1.The settlor’s details and the assets to be settled.
- 2.Bare or discretionary form, and the trustees.
- 3.The beneficiaries, and confirmation the client understands there is no estate reduction.
Questions
What brokers ask us about this product
Does this save inheritance tax?
No. The settlor retains full access, so the trust property remains within the estate. Anyone who has been told otherwise has been told wrong.
How quickly can the trustees release funds?
Once they have evidence of death and have taken their decision, they can act — they do not wait for a grant, because they already hold the asset.
Bare or discretionary?
A bare trust is simpler and fixes the beneficiaries; a discretionary one gives the trustees latitude. It is a question about control, and it belongs with the client’s own adviser.
Request information
Ask us about the Probate Trust
The form reaches an underwriter in Dublin. If you are an intermediary, say so and we will route it to the broker desk.