Trusts: a View from Ireland

Dating from the time of the Crusades, the Trust is the oldest, the most enduring, and one of the most flexible and useful, creations of the Common Law.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by visiting the trust services page at Bank of Ireland.

You might want to borrow some good Irish prose about choosing a corporate trustee:

When should you involve a Professional Trustee/Executor?

In making this assessment, one has to evaluate costs and benefits. A professional Trustee/Executor's costs would have to be justifiable in terms of the value they add to a situation. This added value is most evident where a mix of the following factors apply:

Where asset values are substantial it will be critical to ensure that the requisite professional skills are available.

Certain categories of assets bring added complexity to the task of administering them for example, Marketable Securities, Real Property.

Very often, a core requirement will be to appoint a Trustee who can be relied on to act objectively and impartially. This is particularly important where a balance has to be struck between the interests of different beneficiaries. For example, life tenants will require an income stream, while remaindermen will focus on capital appreciation. This can have a significant bearing on investment and distribution policy.

Trusteeship is a fiduciary capacity which involves risks and responsibilities, which lay Trustees tend to be reluctant to assume. The higher the asset values, the more significant this consideration.

A professional Trustee, particularly if it is a corporate entity, will endure. This is a key factor where a Settlor's plans will be required to span several generations. Confidentiality and security are also assured.

If Bank of Ireland looks particularly impressive, it's because the building once housed the first Irish Parliament.