What is a Personal Injury Trust?
A Personal Injury Trust is a place where money received as compensation for personal injury is placed in order to exclude the compensation from being taken into account as savings (capital) from the means-testing of state benefits.
Some benefits such as Universal Credit, Income Support, Housing Benefit and other benefits will be affected by the amount of money you have in savings such as in a bank or building society account, or investments in shares.
If you or your partner have £6,000 (£10,000 if you are over state pension age) or less in savings then this will not affect your claim for means-tested benefits.
However, if you or your partner have £16,000 or more in savings, you will not be entitled to any means-tested benefits.
The position is different if you or your partner have savings or investments of between £6,000 and £16,000, where the first £6,000 is disregarded.
The difference is treated as if it provides for a monthly income and calculated so that there will be a reduction in the amount of benefits that you receive.
How can you avoid losing means-tested benefits after receiving compensation for Personal Injury?
This is where a Personal Injury Trust protects your means-tested benefits.
By law, the amount of money in the Trust fund and the value of the right to receive any payment under that Trust is not taken into account as capital (savings) when considering whether a person is entitled to means-tested benefits.
This means that putting the compensation you receive for your personal injury claim into a Personal Injury Trust should protect your right to means-tested benefits.
Our Personal Injury Trust Service
We can review the benefits that you receive, consider your savings and what impact any compensation payment will have upon your savings and means-tested benefits in order to advise you upon the best method of protecting your means-tested benefits.
We can draft the document to prepare the Personal Injury Trust and advise you upon the Trustees.
Some Trust matters important not to overlook include:
- Notifying relevant authorities, something that should be done even if the change does not affect benefits
- Opening a Trustee Bank Account
- Guidance and assistance to Trustees when it comes to making decisions confidently
- Taking financial advice that is fully independent
- Buying property in the names of Trustees
- Disclosing the existence of the Trust when applying for social care fees
- Consideration as to whether a tax return needs to be filed
Our fees vary depending upon the amount of the compensation and issues involved.
For further information, submit an enquiry form here or request a callback from the form below, and a member of our Personal Injury Trust Department will contact you for a free initial consultation.
