A single lump sum was used
to create a trust, which contained a life assurance investment bond.
The trust application form is pre-typed, its an iip trust which names the immediate beneficiaries by names, and the shares appointed.
The possible beneficiaries are not named individually, for example, the children of the donor, past present or future spouse of the donor.
But, the policy was created naming the donors children, the donor was a single mother, who divorced before starting the investment and then putting it in a trust.
So the policy is a non matrimonial asset, no monthly payments were made to the life assurance company as it was created by a single lump sum.
Ten years later the donor then re- marries, and sadly past away 2 years afterwards.
So does the surviving spouse recieve the policy pay out, the policy was not in the deceaseds estate, nor mentioned the estate as a beneficiary… the policy was never updated to clarify who the spouse was then and who the spouse was after death…
I have tried everything to find the answer,
Hi Jai,
On death the ownership is usually transferred to the beneficiary - as this does not trigger a chargeable event.
In this case the settlors children? As they are named on the bond.
I’m not sure why the spouse comes into it - ?
Richard C. Bishop
PFEP
Richard, thank you for your reply, adding to what i mentioned within my post, the policy was discovered 8 years later, executors said that the life assurance company had contacted them.
Also, the executors, who also became the trustees, (2012)
They never told the named beneficiaries about the policy or their interests as beneficiaries… beneficiaries were told in 2020, due to a tax problem…
I have contacted the life assurance company, and asked about the policy, they said that the policy was not in a trust as such, the original trustees that were on the trust application form that were issued by the life company, the original trustees say that they never knew that they were trustees, or even retired as one … they never heard of the policy, 1 trustee, who was the donors previous accountant, he said that the executors told he had to retire, the accountant also says that letter he received from the executors was not a deed of retirement and appointment of trustees… there was no other names on the letter,
It was a letter saying that he agrees to retire, so the policy can be stopped and issued to the beneficiaries.
The executors, and life company,they refuse to disclose the original policy and all documents associated with it… the step father (surviving spouse) had demanded that the executors,who are also trustees, should not tell the adult beneficiaries about the policy and the funds claimed…he sold an investment property that was left to him by survivorship, he sold the property to the executors/trustees, for one of the named beneficiaries, using part of the percentage share within the policy…we have only just found out that the maintenance fir the property comes out the beneficiaries fund, and recieves no income at all.
I have tape recordings of conversations to back this up, as well as emails…
Now the trustees have retired and appointed a trust corporation, even the trust corporation is denying the beneficiaries demands for disclosure, the trust corporation before being appointed were the legal team that represented the previous trustees in court…
Seems to be kept under wraps still…