Personal Injury Trusts

If you have been awarded compensation for a personal injury either as a result of a legal claim or because you have received an insurance policy pay out , you may find that you are no longer eligible for certain means tested state benefits including Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment support allowance and Housing Benefit.

Of course, any compensation awarded to you was for a specific reason, such as to cover your lost earnings or to help you adapt to your new circumstances and injuries.

To ensure that your compensation is not taken into account when deciding whether you are entitled to benefits, and to help to protect your future, you may be able to place your money in a Personal Injury Trust. Personal Injury Trusts might allow you to continue receiving state benefits.

Our Personal Injury Trust department is the largest in the UK. We can give you expert help and advice on creating and managing a trust, or on setting up a trust if one of your children has been awarded compensation for an injury.

How Do Personal Injury Trusts Work?

Money held in a Personal Injury Trust can be accessed by “trustees”. Trustees manage the trust and will usually be you and your spouse or partner, or a parent, but may also be solicitors, especially if the compensation is for a child. The trustees hold the money on trust for the person who benefits from the trust, known as the Beneficiary. If money is needed from the trust, all trustees must agree to its release.

To remain eligible for state benefits your compensation should be placed in a specially designated trust bank or building society account that will be set up by your trustees. This money should be held separately from your personal finances.

You and your partner can have £6,000 (between you) outside of the personal injury trust before your benefits will be affected. You can top up your own account with money from your trust.

How We Can Help

Our experienced Personal Injury Trust team can provide expert assistance in all aspects of creating and managing a trust.

Offering clear and concise legal advice with your welfare at heart, our committed team will work with you in order to best protect your assets. We realise that this may be a stressful and difficult time in your life, so we will look to work quickly and efficiently to help you and your family.

Our specialist solicitors can advise you on:

What benefits you are entitled to or may become entitled to in the future
Whether a Personal Injury Trust is the right option for you
Who to appoint as trustees
The preparation of trust documents
What information to provide to your bank or building society to set up the trust bank account
How to run your trust in future to protect your entitlement to benefits
What documentation to provide to the Benefits Agency and Local Authority to ensure your benefit entitlement is protected
Tax returns for your trust
Accounts for your trust
Appointment of new trustees or removal of existing trustees

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Contact Us To Discuss Personal Injury Trusts

For an initial discussion about Personal Injury Trusts, without obligation, contact our expert team on 0370 1500 100 or contact us online and we will get back to you.

0370 1500 100

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