Jennifer Adams considers the benefit of a discretionary will trust under specific inheritance tax legislation and circumstances in which such a trust could be used.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service statistics show that from approximately 580,000 deaths a year in England and Wales, 125 probate cases were formally contested in the High Court in 2024. Many more would be heard but for inheritance tax (IHT) provisions in IHTA 1984, s 144.
Whatever the reasons for any contest, a section 144 discretionary will trust is one of the most relied upon provisions available to families and their advisers should an individual’s will not turn out to be practical or tax-efficient or if, when the
