Blog

A family trust is the smart way to preserve wealth and to ensure that your assets end up where they're supposed to. And that's saying a lot in these unpredictable times.

About 20 percent of New Zealanders already have their assets or property in a trust arrangement, and more are joining their ranks every day. If you haven't already taken the preliminary steps to setting up a family home trust, what are you waiting for?

Family home trusts are not the stuffy old agreements of your father's era. In fact, they can be set up online in about 15 minutes at a fraction of the cost of a traditional family trust - with all the benefits!

They keep your wishes alive

You can leave very detailed instructions for the inter-generational transfer of your assets, and you know your trustees will carry out your wishes to the letter.

It reinforces your will

Nowadays, your will can be set up as an integral part of your trust. As a beneficiary of your will, your trust fund is where the lion's share of your assets should rest, as opposed to bequeathing your assets directly to specific family members.

It protects you against debt collectors

A family trust keeps debt collectors from claiming assets, property, or belongings due to a failed business venture, for example.

It keeps family property in the family

A family trust can be used to manage family land so that it stays in the family for generations to come, i.e. a family farm or real estate holdings.

It funds very specific events

Besides allowing you to put money aside for a specific event, like a child's wedding or university tuition, a family trust lets you spell out exactly how it should be spent. For example, you can specify that the grandchild with the highest academic standing receives a car upon graduation, or you could specify that the remaining assets be equally divided amongst all the grandchildren.

To set up your own family home trust register with TrustUs today.

Its in your hands.