Business Trust
For Protection
Our Business Trust is specially designed for new ‘own life, single life’ term assurance policies taken out for business protection. Business Trusts should be established at policy outset and must be signed and dated on or before the start date of the policy for it to be valid.
Key benefits
- Allows the remaining shareholding directors/partners to retain control.
- Flexibility to deal with changes in business structure.
Other information you need
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A Business Trust can be used if your clients are applying for life cover and/or critical illness cover for the purpose of protecting their business partners or fellow shareholders, should they die or suffer a specified critical illness. All the business partners or fellow shareholders should enter into these arrangements.
It is suitable only where the business owners:
- are each effecting new policies on their own lives to be held in the trust; and
- have entered or are about to enter into an option agreement or other arrangement in relation to their business interests. Scottish Widows can offer a draft option agreement (PDF, 635KB) for your clients’ legal adviser to base their agreement on, if they wish.
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- Should your client(s) die or suffer a critical illness the policy proceeds will be paid to the trustees and can provide a lump sum to enable the partners, or fellow shareholders, to purchase the absent individual’s interest in the partnership, or their shares in the company, and carry on the business.
- If all the other partners or fellow shareholders put similar arrangements in place, there should always be funds available to help to purchase the interest of a partner or shareholder who dies or suffers a critical illness. An appropriate Option Agreement can help to ensure this happens.
- Provided a minimum of two Additional Trustees have been appointed the policy proceeds will be paid directly to the Additional Trustees without the need for Probate.
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- If you have decided that a Business Trust is suitable for your client, please complete our e-signature trust form. OR
- If you prefer to use our editable PDF form, please send us the completed and signed trust documentation as soon as possible. This means that you can complete the form and email it to your client for them to print and sign.
Completed trust forms can be sent to us either by email (a scanned copy or even send a photo) or by post.
Please remember to include the relevant plan number and ensure that the form has been signed and dated.
Email: Protect@scottishwidows.co.uk
Address:
Scottish Widows Protect Servicing Team
PO Box 24171
69 Morrison Street
Edinburgh
EH3 1 HRPlease note: We cannot treat a benefit as being under trust until we have received the trust documentation fully completed and signed.
Important considerations
Trusts are documents with legal significance that may affect the rights, obligations and tax position of your client and the beneficiaries. You should not proceed unless you are satisfied that you understand its effect and that it achieves your objectives. If you have any doubts or uncertainties you should seek the appropriate legal guidance.
We cannot treat a benefit as being under trust until we have received the trust documentation fully completed and signed.