Changes to the Political Landscape Driving Property Transfers
It is of course usual for our clients to contact us with new instructions at times of change in their personal lives. The same is true for external factors which frequently includes changes to the political and economic landscape.
Clients regularly contact us with a view to implementing fresh plans on the basis of what they expect the next Budget may or may not include. These instructions tend to flow from the financial advice or forecasts that clients have received, and we must always remind our clients that we are unable to provide tax advice as such matters should instead be directed to their tax advisers and accountants.
As a result of the general election in July of this year, the UK has a Labour government for the first time in fourteen years. As is the norm for any significant political or economic change, this has prompted several clients to instruct us on matters with a view to re-structuring how their property is owned.
Property ownership consists of both legal ownership and beneficial ownership. The legal owner(s) is usually the person/persons named as the owner(s) on the Land Registry title or deeds whereas the beneficial owner is the person/persons entitled to the benefits of the property.
As an example, two parents may be named as the legal owners of the property on the Land Registry title, but they may be holding the property on trust for their children on the terms of a trust arrangement.
The example above is reflective of a current theme that we are noticing with our clients’ instructions as they are proceeding to setup trust arrangements to transfer the beneficial ownership of property to their children, or other relatives. As above, the driver behind such arrangements is financial advice that our clients have received from their tax advisers and accountants.
As commercial property solicitors our role in these matters is to review the legal title to the property, advise on the next steps and ultimately prepare and complete the Property Transfer to update the legal title as necessary.
This type of instruction includes working closely with our colleagues in our Private Client department as they put in place the Declaration of Trust which sets out the nature of the trust arrangement to include details of the trustees, the beneficial owners and the % share ownership.
If you would like to discuss a matter similar to the example outlined above, or any other legal property matter, please contact James Cheshire or another member of the Commercial Property Department by filling in our contact form.
Disclaimer: General Information Provided Only
Please note that the contents of this article are intended solely for general information purposes and should not be considered as legal advice. We cannot be held responsible for any loss resulting from actions or inactions taken based on this article.
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