Diane Beardmore

Specialising in trust creation, management, administration and restructuring, and probate and estate administration, Diane advises trustees, beneficiaries, and families on the day-to-day compliance and practical administration of trusts, while taking a wider, strategic view of whether each trust continues to meet its original objectives and the current needs of its beneficiaries.

With particular expertise working with trustees and beneficiaries where trusts require active management, careful tax planning or sensitive support for vulnerable or minor beneficiaries, Diane’s work includes reviewing trust structures, advising on tax and cost efficiency, supporting trustees in meeting their compliance obligations, and ensuring that trust assets are managed in a way that is practical, purposeful and aligned with the interests of beneficiaries. She also provides practical assistance on trust reporting requirements, including issues relating to the Automatic Exchange of Information.

Examples of Diane’s work include:

• Protecting beneficiaries’ interests where trust assets had been mismanaged, including liaising with an insolvency practitioner and helping to safeguard the beneficiaries’ position in relation to their home.
• Helping a minor beneficiary prepare for financial independence following the loss of both parents, managing the trust sensitively while involving the beneficiary in investment decisions as they matured.
• Putting practical support and investment arrangements in place for a vulnerable beneficiary, working with a local authority to ensure trust monies were managed appropriately and in the beneficiary’s interests.
• Improving income and cost efficiency for a life tenant by coordinating investment managers and investment property specialists to realign trust assets and streamline professional costs.
• Strengthening the financial management of a discretionary settlement by reviewing cashflow and advising on steps to maintain sufficient liquidity for professional fees and administration costs.
• Enabling trustees and beneficiaries to make an informed decision on ending a trust by reviewing its ongoing purpose, assessing the tax implications and advising when it had served its purpose.