Personal Injury Trusts - Your Questions Answered
Do I need a Personal Injury Trust?
If the following applies to you, then yes, you should consider setting up a PI Trust.
• You are to receive compensation arising out of an injury, illness or clinical negligence claim. This includes money received from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB).
• You are in receipt of any of the following means tested benefits
o Income Support
o Pension Credit
o Income based Job Seekers Allowance
o Housing Benefit
o Council Tax Benefit
o Working Families Tax Credit
o Disabled Person’s Tax credit
• You have £6,000 in savings.
• You may need to go into residential care at some point in the future.
What do you charge for setting up the trust?
Goodmans charge £600 plus VAT to set up the trust for you. This means that if you receive £50 a week in benefits the trust will have paid for itself after 14 weeks.
Do I need to inform the Benefits Agency of the Trust?
Yes, and we will do this for you. We will need the address of your local Benefits Agency and your National Insurance number.
Is there anything else I need to know?
You will meet with a member of our Wills, Probate and Trusts team, who will take time to discuss with you both the legal requirements for setting up the trust and your expectations from the trust.
Briefly, you will need to appoint two people over the age of 18 years to act as your Trustees. You may appoint any two people in whom you have complete trust. Your Trustees may be family members or friends. Alternatively, you may prefer to appoint a professional trustee(s), if a large sum of money is involved. If you are to receive a large sum, we would suggest you take advice from an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA).
WILLS, PROBATE and TRUSTS DEPARTMENT
Tel: 0151 707 0090 Email probate@goodmanslaw.co.uk
Goodman House, 33 Rodney Street, Liverpool, L1 9JF
The above information is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.
© Goodmans Solicitors 2008