Trust Law - Review your trust

Step 1. Identify and record your objectives

You simply need to:

• Download our asset protection planning questionnaire in .html format, word, word perfect,  or .pdf format (? Ross Holmes Trusts Limited), print it, and complete it as best you can. It is in reality no harder than getting together the information needed for a comprehensive will. While none of us likes thinking about our own death put simply we have no option but to do so. 
• If required see our instructions on how to complete the asset protection questionnaire . Each of us has different objectives. Unless we identify and record our objectives it is difficult to plan to achieve them.

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Step 2. Complete our asset protection questionnaire, and compare the trust documents which you have now against what you need to achieve your important objectives.

To do that answer the following questions:

• Do you have all of the documents required as part of your asset protection plan?
• Do you have a complete personalised asset protection program ?
• Do you have (as occurs so frequently) a trust on its own.
• Were the documents prepared by a trust expert?
• Do you know how trustees should make and record decisions? 
• Do all trustees genuinely take part in all decisions?  If they do not those decisions are invalid.  For example when you put money into the Trust or take it out are all trustees consulted?   
• Is your gifting being completed annually?  How do you record additional loans and loan repayments?  Do you know how much the Trust owes you?
  

A Trust is required to protect your assets against risk. It is therefore essential that it does work if the worst happens. 

The archilles heel of trusts is the failure by 90% or more of advisors to give essential advice upon how to run the trust, and make and record trustees decisions.  When you lend money to the Trust what do you need to do?  What do you need to do to obtain loan repayments from the Trust?  Who should pay for outgoings on a house occupied by Trust beneficiaries - the Trust or those beneficiaries?  If the Trustees do not get guidance on such practical matters they will guess, and make mistakes.

Without such practical guidance the trust is likely to become a "sham" and invalid.  This means there has never been a trust, and the person(s) who settled the assets upon the Trust has/have always owned the assets (providing them with no protection against risk).

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Step 3. If you have answered no to any of the questions in STEP 2 we recommend:

• Gain a better understanding of asset protection planning and trusts by:
  
  - Purchasing one of trust expert Ross Holmes' books: 
                 - "Success with Trusts" or 
                 - "Successful Trust Management 
                 - "Sham Trusts
  Our experience from dealing with thousands of trust clients over the years is that after reading Ross Holmes' books you will have a far better understanding how to run the trust and make valid trustees decisions.
• You employ a trust expert to review your trust and other asset protection planning documents. See Trust Reviews.

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Step 4. If you wish to use our services

Please:

• Telephone us on + 00 64 9 4150099 to make an appointment to come to our office, or for a telephone meeting, to discuss in detail your circumstances, and the structure appropriate for your circumstances. Our fee for this service is NZ$337.50 (including GST) for 1 hour. We look forward to assisting you with your asset protection planning review.
• Send us forward us a complete set of your trust and asset protection planning documents and the completed questionnaire:
                    - By email (as a scanned attachment) to rossholmes@rossholmes.co.nz; or
                    - By post to P O Box 33-009, Takapuna, North Shore City, Auckland.

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Step 5. If you need further information

We recommend that you:

• Gain a better understanding of the need for an asset protection plan and trust by:
                       - Attending one of our "Solutions with Trusts" seminars; or
                       - Purchasing our "Solutions with Trusts" DVD (a seminar on a DVD
                          presented by trust expert Ross Holmes) for only NZ$14.95 including
                          postage and packing.
                        - Reading one of trust expert Ross Holmes' books:
                                            - "Success with Trusts" or 
                                            - "Successful Trust Management
                                            - "Sham Trusts
  While these are optional our experience from dealing with thousands of trust clients over the years is that after reading Ross Holmes' books, attending our seminar or watching our DVD you will have a far better understanding how to run the trust and make valid trustees decisions.

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Alternatively read our on line information:

 

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