Keeping your trust-based estate plan up to date
Your trust and estate plan are not “set and forget”. Laws change. Your family and finances change. Your objectives may change too.
A regular review makes sure you trust:
Still protects your key assets
Complies with the Trusts Act 2019
Reflects what your current objectives are – not what you wanted when you set up the trust.
Ross Holmes Virtual Lawyers Limited specialises in trust-based estate and asset protection plans. Our job is to turn complex trust law into clear options so you can make confident, informed decisions.
Our Managing Director, Ross Holmes, is a recognised trust expert and writes the trust administration chapters of LexisNexis’ Law of Trusts (New Zealand), which is used by lawyers and judges in New Zealand.
Protect your family and your assets
We design trust-based and will-based asset protection plans around your family’s real goals and circumstances – not off-the-shelf templates.
A trust review checks whether your existing structure still does the job you think it does – and if not, what needs to change.
When should you review your trust?
You should consider reviewing your trust if:
your trust deed was signed before the Trusts Act 2019 came into force
there have been family changes – new relationships, separation, children or grandchildren, deaths
you have bought or sold significant assets, or changed how assets are owned
you have been told to wind up your trust, or are unsure if it is still worthwhile
there are issues with trustees, or you are being asked for information by beneficiaries and are not sure what you must provide.
Our Estate planning and Trust-based estate and asset protection plan pages explain how your trust should fit into your wider plan. A review checks whether your current documents and administration match that picture.
What a modern trust-based estate and asset protection plan should include
A complete and up-to-date plan will usually include, at a minimum:
a modern trust deed (or deeds)
a clear memorandum of wishes (see our Memorandum of wishes page)
wills that align with the trust
enduring powers of attorney (property and personal care & welfare)
any advance health care directives / living will, and funeral directives.
a simple directory of key contacts (lawyer, accountant, banks, advisers).
Further details of these documents and how they fit together are set out on our Trust-based estate and asset protection plan page.
Your review focuses on whether what you have matches what a modern, effective plan should look like for you.
How our trust review works
Step 1: Record your current wishes
Your present wishes are best recorded in the comfort of your own home.
Download and complete our estate and asset protection questionnaire (PDF or Word).
If you are unsure about any questions, please refer to our guidance page on completing the questionnaire.
(Online completion will be available soon.)
Email your completed questionnaire to reception@rossholmes.co.nz.
Step 2: Send us your trust documents
To properly review your trust, we need to see:
Your current trust deed and
All deeds of variation or changes to that trust
Please email these with your completed questionnaire to:
rossholmes@rossholmes.co.nz
This allows us to compare:
What you currently have in place, with
What you now want, and
What the law (including the Trusts Act 2019) requires.
Step 3: We review and report
We then:
Review your trust deed and related documents
Compare them with your questionnaire and objectives
Advise you whether your trust:
Complies with the Trusts Act 2019
Still gives you the asset protection you expect
Reflects your current wishes for your family and other beneficiaries
We will provide clear recommendations and, where appropriate, a quotation for updating your trust and related documents.
You can also use DYOdocs to generate a free, high-level report on the key documents recommended for your trust-based estate and asset protection plan. This helps you see any gaps before we meet.
Step 4: Update documents
If you decide to proceed, we:
Prepare the required Deed of Variation and/or new trust deed
Update your memorandum of wishes, wills, EPAs and other documents as needed
Help you put in place practical administration systems (minutes, running instructions, reviews)
Offer ongoing support, including webinars and annual review meetings
This turns your trust-based estate and asset protection plan into a coherent, up-to-date framework that works for you and your family now and into the future.
What a modern trust-based estate and asset protection plan should include
A complete trust-based estate and asset protection plan will usually include:
Core documents
Your trust deed
A memorandum of wishes (guidance to your trustees)
Enduring powers of attorney (property and personal care & welfare)
Advance health care directive / living will
Wills for you and your partner
Funeral directives
A directory of important contacts (lawyer, accountant, banks, advisers, key family)
Asset protection and administration documents
Trust minute book and running instructions
A review of how your assets are owned and what should be sold to the trust
Deed of sale and loan documents to transfer assets to the trust
Deeds of gift to progressively forgive the loan owed to you by the trust
Ongoing reviews of which assets the trust should own
In our view, it is also essential to consider a contracting out agreement if:
You are about to start a new de facto relationship and already have a trust; or
You are already in a relationship and are forming a new trust
This helps protect both pre-relationship assets and trust assets, even where a trust exists.
Key features of an updated trust deed
When we review and update your trust, we usually:
Prepare a Deed of Variation (where appropriate) to
Update beneficiaries (if required)
Change the Protector or Subsequent Protector (if required)
Replace the old trust deed with a modern, flexible deed tailored to you
Prepare a completely rewritten and reordered trust deed, incorporating:
Your objectives, clearly set out (important because trustees must have regard to the purposes and context of the trust under the Trusts Act 2019)
An extended maximum trust duration (typically up to 125 years less one day from commencement as permitted by law)
Clear statements of trustees’ mandatory duties and default duties, adjusted as permitted by the Act
Detailed provisions about what documents must be kept and for how long
Modern, flexible powers to add and remove beneficiaries
A clear beneficiary information framework, addressing:
Which beneficiaries are entitled to full information (Principal Beneficiaries)
Which receive limited information (Other Primary Beneficiaries) and when
That Secondary Beneficiaries will normally not receive trust information
This approach gives you much clearer control over what information may be provided to which beneficiaries, while still complying with the Trusts Act 2019.
Your trust deed will also usually:
Clarify what is confidential information
List the factors trustees must consider before giving information to a beneficiary
Allow trustees to charge beneficiaries for providing extensive information if appropriate
Record dates of birth and other key details to avoid uncertainty
We then ensure your settlor and beneficiary objectives are updated to reflect your current wishes. For example:
You (as Principal Beneficiaries) have first priority and the right to reside in trust homes and be maintained to your usual standard
Your children are ranked as next-in-line Primary Beneficiaries
Your grandchildren “stand in the shoes” of their parent if that parent dies before you
Secondary Beneficiaries only benefit if your bloodline dies out
Protecting assets over your lifetime
A well-structured trust can still protect key assets from rest home (residential care) means testing and other risks – but only if it is set up and managed correctly.
For example:
A client who sold her home to a trust in 1986 for $180,000 (now worth $1.18m) was told by friends that the trust provided no protection against residential care fees. That was wrong. The $1m increase in value is safely protected in the trust. If the trust had been wound up, only about $236,336 would have been protected.
Another couple sold their trust’s fully-gifted home and, on incorrect advice, distributed the $800,000 sale proceeds back to themselves to buy a retirement village unit. That decision has potentially put around $563,664 at risk for means-testing.
A review checks whether your current structure still provides the protection you expect – and, if not, what needs to change.
Keeping trust administration practical and affordable
With clear running instructions and proper minute-keeping, trusts do not need to become more difficult or expensive to administer.
We support trustees with:
Short online trust administration webinars (30 minutes – $10.00)
Annual trust administration review meetings (30 minutes with our trust administration officer, Kirsty Hourigan – $175.00 + GST, in person or via Zoom)
Ongoing assistance from Kirsty with practical day-to-day queries
Costs usually only increase where you have a professional independent trustee charging fees for their time.
Our Managing Director, Ross Holmes, is a recognised trust expert and writes the trust administration chapters of LexisNexis’ Law of Trusts – used by lawyers and judges in New Zealand.
Trusts prepared by other firms
If another lawyer, accountant or statutory trustee company set up your trust, we can still help.
To be varied effectively, your existing trust deed must have:
A wide power of variation, and
Powers to add and remove beneficiaries (and no restrictive provisions that block sensible changes)
For trusts prepared by others, please:
Complete our questionnaire
Email it, plus your trust deed and all variations, to rossholmes@rossholmes.co.nz
We will:
Review the deed to confirm what is possible
Identify any restrictions that may cause problems
Provide practical options and a quotation for any recommended variations or updates
Fee for this review:
$350.00 per trust including GST (for the initial review and advice on what can be done; any further work is then quoted separately).
Getting started is simple
1. Book a free 15-minute introduction (for new clients)
In person or via Zoom – a chance to talk about your situation and how we can help.
This meeting is not for legal advice.
2. We outline your best options
We explain, in plain English, the pros and cons of different approaches – for example, a will-based plan versus a trust-based estate and asset protection plan.
3. You receive clear next steps and costs
You’ll know what we recommend, what it will cost, and the likely timeframe – so there are no surprises.
This meeting is to understand your situation and explain how we can help. It is not for legal advice.
How we work with you
When you ask us to help with a trust-based estate and asset protection plan, we will:
Understand your situation and goals
Your family, your relationships, your business or work situation, and what you are trying to protect.
Advise on whether a trust-based plan is suitable
We will be honest if a trust does not add enough benefit, or if changes to an existing trust are needed.
Design the right structure
We help you choose trustees, beneficiaries and key terms that fit your circumstances and future plans.
Prepare and implement the documents
We draft the trust deed, wills, EPAs and related documents, and guide you through signing and initial set-up (including transferring assets where appropriate).
Support you over time
Trusts and estate plans need to be reviewed. We are available to help trustees and families keep your plan up to date as life, laws and assets change.
Why you need an experienced trust and estate planning lawyer
-
A trust-based estate and asset protection plan is one of the most significant legal structures you will put in place. Working with an experienced lawyer helps you:
avoid legal challenges and unintended tax or relationship property consequences
make sure your plan is legally sound and practical for your trustees to operate
keep your trust, wills and EPAs co-ordinated as your life changes
have peace of mind that your wishes are clear and your loved ones will be taken care of.
If forming a trust has been sitting in your “too-hard basket”, we can help you break it into manageable steps and finally get it done.
Disclaimer: This article should not be relied upon for legal advice. Always seek professional legal advice before making any decisions regarding your trust-based estate and asset protection plan..