Published on: 9th May 2022

What is a Letter of Wishes?

In England and Wales there are a variety of trusts which you may wish to include in your will, all with different purposes. Some of these trusts will clearly define the testator’s chosen beneficiaries and some give trustees discretion on how to manage and administer the trust. If you have a discretionary trust within your will, once you pass away it is the role and responsibility of your trustees to decide when and how to administer the trust. To provide the best support for your trustees in exercising their discretion we highly recommend writing a “Letter of Wishes”.

A “Letter of Wishes” allows you to provide guidance for your trustees regarding your Discretionary Trust once you have passed away. The aim of the document is to note your personal wishes for your trustees to consider when administering a trust on behalf of your discretionary beneficiaries. It also allows you to provide an insight into why you created the trust, allowing your trustees to gain a better understanding of how they can use the trust in order to reflect your wishes. The letter should be stored with your will, ready to assist your trustees, but should not be attached to your will. Although the letter is not legally binding, it is a chance to provide your thoughts and wishes behind why you have included a discretionary trust in your will.

The letter should include how you wish for your trustees to manage the trust and details regarding when and how the trust should be administered. An example of how beneficial a “Letter of Wishes” can be is noted in the following example. As a testator, you may have your children and grandchildren as discretionary beneficiaries of a trust. You may want to consider if one beneficiary should take priority over others. For example, you could note that you wish for your grandchildren to take priority over your children as they may be in need of more financial support. You should also consider if there is a purpose for your trust. For example, you may wish for your trustees to use their discretion to provide for your grandchildren’s education up to a certain age or even regarding certain events such as weddings. Without a “Letter of Wishes” your trustees may not be aware that you wish for the discretionary trust to be used primarily for your grandchildren or for educational purposes. You may additionally wish to highlight what you would want your trustees to take into consideration when managing the trust, for example, a beneficiary’s occupation or any medical concerns that may result in expensive treatment.

As a “Letter of Wishes” is a document the testator creates themselves one advantage is its flexibility. Your “Letter of Wishes” can be rewritten at any time and therefore does not require your will to be amended each time your “Letter of Wishes” is rewritten. 

If you choose to include your personal wishes and views on the distribution of your trust within a “Letter of Wishes”, another advantage is that it does not normally become a public document. During estate administration, if a Grant of Probate is obtained a Will can become a public document, available to be viewed by anyone. Your ”Letter of Wishes” will normally, therefore, allow your reasons and views to remain private.

If you are interested in discussing the creation of a Discretionary Trust and “Letter of Wishes” please call 01732 868190 to book an appointment with one of our consultants or use our online form by clicking here.

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If you wish to give instructions or require general information about our Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, or Trusts then we will carry out a telephone or Zoom appointment. However, if you wish to give instructions to one of our Consultants and you feel that you can only do this at a Face to Face meeting we are offering, at our Consultant’s discretion, a limited number of Face to Face appointments in most of the areas we normally cover (subject to Government advice). To see the areas we normally cover please click here. To arrange an appointment please telephone 01732 868190 or click here.

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