New HMRC data shows a sharp spike in newly registered trusts, with 115,000 trusts being registered last year – 86% of which carry no tax liability. For private client professionals, this is more than an interesting statistical shift; it reflects changing family dynamics, heightened concerns around vulnerability and a renewed appetite for long-term governance.
Trusts have always held a distinctive place in private client work. They are technical and often misunderstood, sometimes dismissed as relics for the ultra-wealthy or as overly elaborate tax tools. Yet the latest figures tell a different story. Quietly but steadily, trusts are re-entering the mainstream of estate planning.
This suggests that families are not turning to trusts to chase loopholes; they are seeking our solutions because they want structure, continuity and clarity. It is no longer simply a question of who needs a trust, but what a trust can now achieve in an increasingly complex legislative landscape.
So, as trusts regain momentum, advisers must ensure that their planning frameworks remain robust, adaptable and are authentically aligned with clients’ evolving needs.
Why trusts are rising back up the agenda
Several forces are driving this renewed interest.
More complex family structures: Today’s families rarely fit into a neat template. Once strict typecasts have become a mix of blended households, cohabiting partners, and international ties – all of which introduce layers of nuance that outright inheritance can struggle to accommodate. In these cases, trusts can provide the steadying structure clients increasingly need.
Later life vulnerability: As people live longer, advisers are seeing greater instances of fluctuating or diminished capacity. Families want the understandable reassurance that a loved one’s affairs will be managed consistently if their ability to make decisions changes. A well-designed trust can provide exactly that kind of continuity at a time when clarity matters most.
Intergenerational wealth transfer and business succession: The UK is on the verge of one of the largest wealth transfers in its history. Many clients simply do not want their estate to be passed on without guards firmly in place. They demand staged access, protective oversight and a buffer against relationship or financial risks. Trusts allow for all these distinctions.
For business owners, trusts also help to maintain voting control, prevent the dilution of shares and even support long-term succession; in this sense, they are a practical and sometimes crucial tool – especially when familial wealth is tied up in a trading company.
Growing administrative and contentious risks: With probate disputes rising year on year, trusts can radically reduce friction by providing a clear framework for stewardship. They can prevent the delays, disagreements and complexity that so often arise when assets pass outright.
What does this mean for private client professionals?
The resurgence of trusts places renewed responsibility on advisers.
Suitability is still fundamental, of course. Trusts should be recommended where they add real value – protection, clarity or governance – rather than as the default mechanism. Over-engineering such structures can overburden trustees and create unnecessary complications.
Compliance demands are also increasing. The expanded Trust Registration Service requires accurate reporting and early, thorough education for trustees. Clients will be increasingly looking to advisers to help them navigate these obligations with absolute assurance.
Integration, too, is essential. A trust cannot be an island; to be effective, it must sit comfortably alongside wills, gifting strategies, business structures and anticipated tax exposure. With legislation and family circumstances changing faster than ever, regular reviews are not simply good practice – they are now essential maintenance.
A modern tool for modern estates
The rise in non-taxable trusts shows that families are looking for structures that prioritise governance, protection and long-term certainty. For advisers, the message is clear: the traditional toolkit is evolving, and trusts are playing a larger and more versatile role within it.
In this sense, trusts are not a solution for every scenario, but they are becoming an increasingly valuable one. Their resurgence gives advisers an opportunity to strengthen estate plans, reduce future friction and support multi-generational families with structures that genuinely reflect their shifting needs.
Rebecca Bright is Head of Trusts and Estates at Duncan & Toplis
One Response
Surely the increase in registered trusts, mainly non-tax paying trusts, partly is down to the introduction of the TRS system and trustees becoming aware that their trusts have to be registered, whether that be a living trust or a will trust. We are increasingly coming across families where will trusts involving property and lifetime interests have not been registered.