The solicitors we act for are very busy practitioners, constantly attending to competing client demands. Work pressures are heightened as legal practices experience difficulty finding and retaining qualified staff. Problems don’t end there either. Increased compliance requires effective systems and processes to meet obligations. This is especially so where solicitors hold independent trustee roles.
Overall, the time and capital needed to employ staff experienced in trust matters and to implement systems to deal with client matters in an efficient manner, is often better spent elsewhere by busy legal practices.
Black + White Trust Services Limited can’t solve all solicitors’ problems but it can help minimise the requirement to employ staff and establish systems in respect of trusts. Solicitors gain back much-needed time too by using our services, enabling them to employ their time on fee-generating matters rather than dealing with trust administration and management.
Black + White Trust Services Limited can hold the role of independent trustee in a trust where it deems the appointment appropriate. This is one of the main services we offer. We believe trusts benefit from having an experienced independent trustee sitting alongside other trustees. Integrity of a trust, more robust decision-making, and higher quality documentation are just some of the benefits derived from having an experienced independent trustee on board. These benefits are only conferred, however, if independent trustees are active, taking part in the administration and management of trust affairs.
Many solicitors have become independent trustees in their clients’ trusts, often on a pro-bono basis. Trustees are now, however, subject to satisfying an increased compliance regime along with a plethora of legislative responsibilities. Consequently, trustees’ roles have become much more onerous in terms of work required, time pressures faced, and potential risk encountered, than what was originally envisaged at the time of appointment. Given this, solicitors often wish to resign from being independent trustees. Contemporaneously, they want to ensure their clients’ trusts retain the experience an independent trustee can bestow. That is where Black + White Trust Services Limited can assist.
Upon request, and where we deem it appropriate, we can hold the role of independent trustee. We only contemplate this with the blessing of the solicitor acting as the independent trustee and only if all parties are willing to adhere to our practices.
Having a dividing line between solicitors acting for trusts and Black + White Trust Services Limited acting as independent trustees provides many benefits. A checks and balances system is established, clients’ needs are satisfied in a timely manner, potential risk solicitors face from holding the independent trustee role is mitigated and finally, the client-solicitor relationship is protected. Ultimately, the benefits of using the services we provide, creates a winning situation for all parties.
Trust Management + Administration
Trust Management + Administration
COPYRIGHT 2023, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED