Trusts Can Protect Wealth - But What Protects the Family?
Since the 5th of April, I’ve had conversations with more than a few advisers whose clients rushed to set up new structures before the end of the tax year. While tax was the catalyst, in most cases it simply accelerated planning the families were already considering — where the real drivers were succession and the need for stronger governance around significant shared wealth.
This flurry of activity brings something into sharp focus:
Establishing a structure — whether a trust or a family investment company — is only the beginning.
Often, the focus is on getting the legal and technical elements in place ahead of a deadline, while less attention is paid to what happens after the ink is dry. Yet what follows can be more complex, more human, and ultimately more consequential.
Families and their advisers need to ask:
What will this structure mean for the beneficiaries in practice — how will it impact their lives?
How will everything be communicated to those who weren’t involved in the set-up?
How do we make sure the rising generation are sufficiently prepared rather than simply protected?
Will trustees or directors have the relationships needed to help beneficiaries navigate the opportunities — and constraints — that come with these vehicles?
And what happens if there’s more money than the family needs? Can it be deployed in ways that align with family values or benefit the wider community?
I support families in the space beyond the structure — the relational, behavioural and often uncomfortable space where decisions are made, values are tested, and long-term alignment is either built or broken.
One family I worked with had made up their minds that they needed to set up a trust. The planning was sound, the intentions were good — but they hadn’t explained the “why” to their adult children. When the structure was eventually revealed, it didn’t feel like a loving gift to the next generation; it felt like a lack of trust. Without context, what was meant as a thoughtful step toward safeguarding the family’s future was misinterpreted as an attempt to exert control. What shifted things was opening up a conversation about the reasons behind the trust — the values, hopes and concerns — and inviting the children into a more transparent and meaningful dialogue.
Families don’t live in legal documents and spreadsheets. They need to pass on more than assets. They need to pass on meaning. When handled with care, structures can offer a long-term framework for families to flourish. But if they’re treated as the whole solution to succession and governance — or if beneficiaries are left in the dark — they can become a source of confusion, resentment, or even conflict.
If these are themes you’re navigating with your clients — or within your own family — I’d be happy to continue the conversation.