Tax on adding funds to an existing trust

Question

I have a client who wants to add funds to a trust that someone else set up. He points out that his name won’t appear on the trust deed so presumably he won’t be the settlor of the trust? What are the tax consequences?

Answer

It is quite possible to set up a trust without naming the settlor. The trustee can make a declaration of trust setting out the terms of the trust naming the beneficiaries and listing the assets held on trust. You might even find deeds with ‘nominee settlors’ (although this is less common now) where the named settlor isn’t the person who actually put money into the trust.

Identifying the settlor

Even if the documents don’t name the settlor the trust will...