I am instructed by clients who set up Asset Protection trusts with UWP and now want to remove Mr and Mrs Long as Trustees…however they do not have copies of their trust documents. I have a file of papers with correspondence in it and the property was transferred to the names of the Longs as Trustees, but there are no copies of the trust documents in any of this. I have tried HMLR but nothing there and the Police haven’t got to these clients yet.
I am pretty sure I know the answer to this, but is there anything I can do without the signed trust documents to refer to in Deeds of Removal/Appointment?
You should submit a written request for up to date contact details for the trustees to the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit quoting Operation Ardent ardentenquiries@ersou.pnn.police.uk
You can obtain a copy of the title document from Land Registry. This will have a restriction giving details of the name and date of the trust. This can then be referred to in the Deed. I have done a couple of these recently. You can do this by way of a Deed of Retirement and Appointment, rather than Removal if the relevant clause is not known. Mr & Mrs Long have signed my documents without any problems. Contact addresses for Mr & Mrs Long can be obtained using the details provided above by Iain Cameron.
The trust itself can continue to run in the names of the new trustees, or it can be wound up and the property appointed back to the settlors (especially if RNRB needs to be preserved).