After the death of Ozzy Osborne and the revelation that he has included provision for his wife Sharon to receive a dozen black roses every week for the rest of her life paid for out of the estate, people may well be wondering how this works in practice.
It is certainly likely to be one of the more unusual requests his lawyers will have dealt with, and throws up several practical and drafting considerations.
To deal with such an instruction, I suspect that what has been created in Ozzy’s Will is a discretionary trust.
What is a discretionary trust?
A discretionary trust is the most flexible trust that you can create.
As to how a discretionary trust works, the clue is in its name. A sum of money or a percentage of the estate is left in the trust within the terms of the Will and trustees are appointed to carry out the obligations of the trust.
The specific details of the trust are left wide, with a variety of potential beneficiaries named who ‘could’ benefit from the trust pot.
Alongside the legally binding framework of the trust which is contained in the last Will of the deceased, there will also be a non-legally binding letter of wishes addressed to the trustees. This will cover the purpose of the trust pot and what and how they wish the deceased hopes that the trustees will deal with the money.
In Ozzy’s case, my guess would be that the request for the black roses will be contained within the non-legally binding letter of wishes and the trustees will use their discretionary powers to purchase these for Sharon as he has requested.
When would you use a discretionary trust?
A discretionary trust is not just for the rich and famous. Discretionary trusts are very useful for a variety of situations, providing flexibility for the trustees to use their discretion in fulfilling a specific request to allow for practical considerations.
For example, if a son or daughter is going through a tricky divorce, a parent may wish to protect the share that they eventually leave for that son or daughter from being taken into account in the division of assets within the divorce.
If the parent foresees this, then they could include a discretionary trust within their Will which would ring fence the inheritance until the financial situation of the son or daughter is resolved. This also works for a potential beneficiary facing the prospect of bankruptcy.
Solicitors for Wills Alton
It will be interesting to see what Ozzy’s Will does say. A Will becomes a public document as soon as probate is granted on the estate, meaning we will get to see it in due course.
However, interestingly, the letter of wishes that may contain the specifics does not get made public.
Private Client Solicitors Alton
Discretionary trusts can be a useful estate planning tool and used by people in a variety of circumstances.
At Bookers & Bolton, our experienced private client solicitors in Alton, Hampshire, advise on discretionary trusts and other forms of trust that may be appropriate for your circumstances and can help meet your estate planning objectives.
Our specialist lawyers in our private client department offer clear, tailored solutions for our clients.
We help individuals and families ensure they have the best legal protections in place.
Our private client legal services include advice on:
- Wills.
- Probate and Estate Administration.
- Powers of Attorney.
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- Elderly Client Services.
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