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Trusts

Our Private Client department is led by partner, Jacqueline Dow.  Jacqueline was admitted as a solicitor in 1992, joined the firm in 2018 and was assumed as a partner in 2020. 

We can assist clients with setting up and running family and charitable Trusts.  Trusts can be set up for a variety of purposes, such as:

  • to protect funds for the benefit of someone who is vulnerable or cannot manage their own money;
  • to protect funds for those who find themselves in problematic situations such as a difficult marriage or high risk business; or
  • to help with Inheritance Tax or estate planning by holding assets outwith the personal estate.

Trusts can also be set up to support charitable purposes by allowing grants to be made to people or bodies with a particular need.  

Once a Trust has been set up, we can also assist the trustees with the administrative burden.  Such services include bookkeeping for the Trust, secretarial support (including arranging and documenting Trustees’ meetings), financial reporting, liaising with investment managers and stockbrokers, liaising with HMRC to ensure compliance with tax requirements, and making annual reports to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) in respect of a charitable Trust.  

We are able to charge a fixed fee for the creation of Trusts in many cases.  The level of the fixed fee will depend on the work required. We will discuss the fee with you at our initial meeting.  In the ordinary circumstance, however, our fixed fee for Trusts are approximately:

Setting up a Trust - £750.00 plus VAT

Setting up a Trust for a couple - £950.00 plus VAT  

The work involved in Trust administration varies and is charged by reference to an hourly rate.  Our hourly rates are revised on 1st May each year, with Jacqueline’s current hourly rate being £285.00 per hour plus VAT (currently 20%) broken down into £28.50 per 6-minute units or part thereof.

Telephone calls will be charged at £28.50 per 6-minute unit or part thereof.

Letters will be charged at 1.25 units per page of 100 words or part thereof.

The drafting of Deeds and Court documents will be charged at 5 units per sheet of 200 words or part thereof.

Copying will be charged at £1.00 per page for the first copy of any document and 40p per page for each subsequent copy.

There will be a separate one-off charge of £25 plus VAT at 20% in respect of our gathering (and updating, where necessary), documentation to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering regulations and administrative matters when opening your file.

The number of hours spent on your matter will be determined by its complexity and its unique circumstances.  We will discuss the likely cost with you at our initial meeting. If additional costs arise due to unforeseen circumstances, we will discuss this with you at the earliest opportunity and we will advise you of any increase in cost that may arise.  The hourly rate does not include any outlays that may be required.  These are variable depending on the nature of the matter.  We will discuss what these may be at our initial meeting.

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