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Articles & Commentary
This section brings together an ever-expanding series of articles exploring the legal structures used in estate and succession planning, including trusts, foundations, and related planning tools. The aim is to explain how these structures work in practice, where their limits lie, and why careful design matters.
Rather than offering generic guidance or pre-packaged solutions, the articles focus on legal structure and long-term coherence. They address common misunderstandings, compare different planning approaches, and examine areas where planning can fail if underlying assumptions are incorrect.
Some articles are technical, others more reflective, but all are written to inform and to clarify—not to provide personal advice. The material is intended for general information only and does not replace bespoke legal or tax advice tailored to individual circumstances.
Taken together, these articles reflect CHC Legal’s approach to planning: measured, structural, and focused on durability rather than short-term outcomes.
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Are Trusts Now Becoming Mainstream?
An evidence‑based review of rising trust usage in the UK Recent reporting in financial and tax media has highlighted a marked increase in interest among UK families in the use of trusts, particularly for inheritance tax (IHT) planning and inter‑generational wealth transfer. Multiple sources now report a substantial rise in trust registrations, prompting the question: have trusts become “mainstream,” or are they simply more visible due to fiscal pressure? Growing Use of Trusts
CHC Legal
4 min read
Mirror Wills, Remarriage, and Disinheritance – The horror story that just keeps on repeating.
Are mirror wills always such a good idea? They’re certainly very common - in fact one of, if not the, most common estate planning tool for couples in the UK today. But are there circumstances when they’re really not such a good idea? And, if so, what are the alternatives. Let’s take the following example – it’s a fictional scenario but as you will see from the many cases below – some or all of the key elements of it keep cropping up year and year. The Structural Trap of Remar
CHC Legal
7 min read
When Courts Override Wills: Lessons from Three Recent Cases
Testamentary freedom is a defining feature of English law. In principle, a person may leave their estate to whomever they choose. In practice, that freedom is constrained by: Statutory intervention, e.g. Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 Equitable doctrines, e.g. proprietary estoppel Challenges based on capacity or undue influence Structural risks, e.g. remarriage The following cases illustrate how courts have overridden, rewritten, or displaced will
CHC Legal
7 min read
Technical Note: Can UK Care Home Fees Legally Be Avoided by Using a Trust?
The idea that care home fees can be “avoided” by placing assets into a trust is common in marketing literature. The legal position under the Care Act 2014 , the Charging and Assessment of Resources Regulations 2014 , and the Care and Support Statutory Guidance (CASSG) is far more nuanced. Trusts do not automatically remove assets from financial assessment. Whether assets are included depends primarily on the statutory rules on deprivation of assets and the concept of notiona
CHC Legal
4 min read
Technical Note: Is a Donation to a Foundation a PET or a Chargeable Lifetime Transfer for a UK Founder?
1. Introduction When a UK‑resident founder transfers assets to a civil‑law foundation during lifetime, advisers frequently ask: Is the transfer a Potentially Exempt Transfer (PET), or a Chargeable Lifetime Transfer (CLT)? The answer is not intuitive. It depends entirely on how the foundation is characterised for UK inheritance tax (IHT) purposes — a classification that is fact‑sensitive and often misunderstood. This article sets out the correct statutory framework, the HMRC p
CHC Legal
5 min read
A Foundation in Action: A Worked Example
Abstract descriptions of foundations can obscure how they operate in practice. The following hypothetical example illustrates how a private foundation might function over time—structurally, fiscally, and administratively. This is not advice. It is a structural illustration. The Scenario The founder is a 65-year-old gentleman with: £1 million in cash A residential property worth £2 million Three adult children (two sons and one daughter) He wishes to: Provide long-term financi
CHC Legal
4 min read
Foundation Terminology Explained: A Structural Guide for New Readers
Like trusts, foundations are surrounded by terminology that can be confusing to newcomers. Words such as founder , council , guardian , purpose , and charter are often used loosely, even though they refer to distinct legal concepts. This article explains the most commonly encountered foundation terms, grouped under four headings: How foundations are constituted How foundations operate How foundations are treated for tax purposes (general principles) Other commonly used descr
CHC Legal
4 min read
Trust Terminology Explained: A Structural Guide for New Readers
Trust law is rich in terminology. Words such as discretionary , resulting , life interest , revocable , and bare trust are often used interchangeably in conversation, even though they describe entirely different things. This article explains the most commonly encountered trust terms, grouped under four headings: How trusts arise How trusts operate How trusts are taxed (UK context) Other commonly used descriptions It is not a substitute for legal advice, but a structured glos
CHC Legal
4 min read
The Role of Protectors and Enforcers Across Jurisdictions
Protectors and enforcers occupy an unusual position in trust and foundation planning. They are often described as safeguards or oversight mechanisms, yet they can also become the point at which governance collapses into control. Across jurisdictions, the legal treatment of protectors and enforcers varies significantly, but a common theme emerges: their effectiveness depends on restraint, independence, and clarity of role. When those conditions are absent, protectors and enfor
CHC Legal
4 min read
Jurisdiction Matters, but does Location Still Trump Structure in Trust Planning?
In trust and foundation planning, attention is often focused on structure: whether assets are placed into a trust or a foundation, whether a particular statute is used, or whether governance provisions are sufficiently sophisticated. While structure matters, it is rarely decisive on its own. In practice, jurisdiction—both legal and territorial—often determines outcomes as much as structure does. Courts, tax authorities, and regulators do not engage with trusts and foundations
CHC Legal
3 min read
Who Really Owns the Assets?
Legal Title, Beneficial Enjoyment, and Attribution In trust and foundation planning, ownership is often described as having been “given away” once assets are transferred into a structure. In legal practice, however, the question of ownership rarely ends with the name on a title register or constitutional document. Courts and tax authorities routinely ask a more searching question: who, in substance, enjoys and controls the assets? This distinction—between formal legal title a
CHC Legal
3 min read
Reserved Powers in Trusts and Foundations: Where Governance Ends and Control Begins
Modern trust and foundation statutes frequently permit founders or settlors to reserve certain powers. These provisions are often presented as reassurance: a way to maintain influence without undermining the structure. In practice, however, reserved powers sit at the fault line between legitimate governance and impermissible control. Understanding where that line lies is essential. Structures rarely fail because powers are reserved; they fail because those powers are exercise
CHC Legal
3 min read
How trusts can fail – a case in point
Trusts are often presented as robust, almost impregnable structures—vehicles that can ring‑fence wealth, organise succession, and insulate assets from personal liabilities. Yet the law has always insisted that form must give way to substance. A trust that is badly conceived, poorly administered, or deliberately manipulated can unravel with surprising speed. Courts do not need exotic doctrines to achieve this. They rely on familiar tools: the requirement of genuine intention,
CHC Legal
4 min read
When Foundations Fail: Governance, Control, and Recharacterisation
Foundations are often presented as robust, self-contained legal entities capable of holding assets independently of founders and beneficiaries. In practice, however, foundations can and do fail. When they do, the reasons are rarely technical defects in the statute under which they were formed. Failure usually arises from governance weaknesses, excessive founder control, or factual arrangements that contradict the legal form. Courts are generally reluctant to disregard formall
CHC Legal
4 min read
Trusts vs Foundations: Structural Differences, Jurisdictional Fit, and Common Misconceptions
Trusts and foundations are frequently discussed together in estate and long-term planning, and are sometimes presented as interchangeable tools. In practice, they are fundamentally different legal structures, rooted in different legal traditions and producing different consequences in terms of control, governance, taxation, and enforcement. Understanding these differences is essential. Choosing between a trust and a foundation is not a matter of preference or fashion, but of
CHC Legal
4 min read
What a Foundation Is (and Is Not) in Estate and Long-Term Planning
Foundations are increasingly discussed alongside trusts in the context of estate planning, asset holding, and long-term structuring. As with trusts, however, foundations are often presented in oversimplified terms—frequently as “trust substitutes” or as mechanisms for control without ownership. Such descriptions obscure their legal character and the circumstances in which foundations are, or are not, appropriate. At its core, a foundation is not a trust. It is a legal person.
CHC Legal
4 min read
What a Trust Actually Is (and Is Not) Under English Law
The word trust is used widely in estate and succession planning, but it is also one of the most frequently misunderstood legal concepts in this field. Trusts are often described in marketing terms—as tools for “asset protection”, “control”, or “tax efficiency”—yet these descriptions tend to obscure the legal reality rather than clarify it. At its core, a trust is not a product or a strategy. It is a legal relationship. Under English law, a trust arises where one party (the s
CHC Legal
3 min read
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