Becoming a Trustee

[spacebiscuit]

I hope this is the correct place to post this topic.

My father recently passed, he and my mother had a Will, upon his death his estate passed to her. I understand that I can legally ring fence 50% of the estate by becoming a Trustee along with my siblings. Upon my mother's eventual death if I understand correctly only her 50% of the estate will be subject to Inheritance tax?

Are there any pitfalls or considerations that should be taken into account. Do I have to become a trustee within a given time frame of eventual death?

How do I become a trustee, is this done with altering the remaining Will.

Happy to be corrected on any of the above, it is just what I have read and been told by different sources which I am trying to make sense of.

Thank you in advance.

[PallasAthena]

What do you mean by "he and my mother had a Will"? They can't have a joint Will (I assume you are in England).

Are you the Executor of your father's Will?

Was any property jointly owned by your father and mother?

Did the Will expressly create a Trust? If not I don't understand how you can create one yourself when you are neither testator nor beneficiary.

Do you have a link.to where you have read about this Trust idea? There are trust products advertised online for avoiding IHT but HMRC reckon most will not work.

[spacebiscuit]

Apologies, I guess I didn't make it clear. He and my mother had their own Wills

I am named Executor of the Will with my mother. The text of the will reads that the Executor are hereinafter called Trustees.

The family home was jointly owned by parents and passes to my mother upon my father's death.

Once the Wil is processed at Probate presumably my Mother's will would be the pertinent document.

I hope that is a clearer picture?

[Pezza54]

If your mother remarries or enters a civil partnership her existing will is invalidated and if she doesn't make a new will her estate will be distributed in line with intestacy rules
You should speak to your mother about this
If remarrying is a possibility then she could seek professional advice about setting up a lifetime trust. Tax rules regarding lifetime trusts are complex so a this type of trust should be considered carefully
Before 2007 trusts were more common to avoid IHT. Since that date the unused IHT exempt allowance (maximum £325k) and from 2017 any unused NRB (now £175k max) for the first spouse to die can be carried forward when the surviving spouse dies. This means the maximum IHT exempt amount (NRB) may be £1million for the latter estate
Do you know the approximate value of your mother's property and the approx total amount she has in savings and investments?