Anyone over the age of 18 can set up a trust to hold their assets. There is not a set amount needed to set up a trust. However, you may consider a trust when you have assets you wish to protect, control or pass on. 

Trusts have a number of useful functions for managing your assets. For example, trusts can be used to:

• pass on assets when you die,
• pass on assets during your life,
• assist in managing the affairs of another who is no longer able,
• manage assets for someone who is too young to do it for themselves,
• or just to control and protect family assets.

Trusts can offer protection for your assets, ensuring your financial interests.

A trust is managed by trustees. The trustees are appointed by you and in some cases can be changed, added, and removed, as per your instruction. 

A trustee(s) needs to be a party, over the age of 18, that you trust to protect your fiscal concerns and manage your assets the way you have stipulated. If the trustees you appoint are also beneficiaries, you might consider whether it could result in a conflict of interest. Ultimately it is about who you trust to respect your wishes, be that your spouse or partner, family, friends, financial professional, or legal professional.

Trusts made during your life can last up to 125 years. It can be set up in the trust for the remaining assets to be dealt with as you wish once this time has passed. 

Yes, your trust can be amended along the way as circumstances change. For example, if you wanted to add or remove trustees, change their level of control, or add assets. 

A contractual or summary dismissal is the immediate termination of an employment contract by an employer due to a serious breach of the contract or workplace policies by the employee. This type of dismissal typically occurs without notice or the usual termination procedures and is often reserved for severe misconduct or gross violations of company rules.

Many agricultural businesses are under economic pressure to diversify.  However, materially changing the use of a building or land from an agricultural use to a non-agricultural use requires planning permission. 

There are two routes to securing the requisite permission. In certain circumstances, Classes Q and R of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (the GPDO) authorise the conversion of agricultural buildings such as a barn and land within its curtilage to respectively, a residential use (Class Q) or a ‘flexible’ commercial use ((i.e. storage or distribution, hotel or a range of commercial uses including a shop, office, restaurant or light industry) (Class R).  The focus of both these classes is on existing buildings and small areas of related land.

Where a proposal falls outside Classes Q or R of the GPDO, for example renewable energy schemes, an express planning permission will be required.  

Working together with our Agricultural Property team, we support clients from initial development of the agricultural diversification proposal through to the delivery of the scheme, including advising on the scope of relevant permitted development rights within the GPDO, and supporting express planning applications and advising on the discharge of planning conditions and replanning.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a locally levied tax on certain types of development which many local authorities are adopting. CIL is notoriously bureaucratic and complex.

Our planning specialists have an in-depth understanding of CIL, having advised both local authorities implementing the CIL regime for the first time, developers on navigating the regime and landowners who may have inadvertently triggered CIL liability.  We can advise you on a proposed development’s potential CIL liability, on ways of limiting that liability, and on mechanisms to support cash-flow by deferring the timing of payments.  We also advise on CIL appeals and enforcement.  

Local Planning Authorities and a number of other public bodies have a variety of powers to compulsorily acquire land or rights over land.  Such powers are most commonly encountered in Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) but are also included in Development Consent Orders (DCOs) for nationally significant infrastructure projects, and Transport and Work Act Orders (TWAs) for transport schemes.  

Where land or rights over land are compulsorily acquired, the affected landowner/occupier will be entitled to compensation. Where compensation cannot be agreed, any compensation dispute can be referred to the Upper Tribunal of the Lands Chamber (a type of court).

CPOs/DCOs & TWAs will be subject to public consultation before they are made and the acquiring authority will seek to negotiate the acquisitions in parallel with pursuing any compulsory powers.

As a general rule, affected landowners will normally object to the proposed acquisition if only to preserve their negotiating position. Unless an objection is withdrawn, it will be considered as part of a public inquiry. 

There is always a risk that a proposed compulsory acquisition will be derailed at a public inquiry, and public inquiries are expensive. Hence, there is a strong motivation on the acquiring authority to negotiate with objectors to persuade them to withdraw their objections in advance of any public inquiry.  An agreement as to mitigatory arrangements (usually including a figure for compensation) between the acquiring authority and an objector will be captured in a compromise agreement.

Our specialists have successfully advised both acquiring authorities on putting CPOs in place, and landowners who are affected by proposals to compulsorily acquire their land, including lodging and presenting objections at public inquiries and negotiating compromise agreements. Where land is to be acquired compulsorily, we also work closely with specialist compulsory purchase surveyors to advise on securing compensation.

Our services in this area include:

•  Advising affected landowners on objections
•  Preparing and making representations at public inquiries
• Advising on entitlement to compensation
•  Negotiating compromise agreements.