Personal Injury Trust Solicitors

Can I continue to claim benefits if my compensation is held in a PI trust?

If your compensation is held in a PI trust, you can continue to claim benefits and you can still have the benefit of the money held in the PI trust, rather than see it eaten away by the cost of living.

Therefore a PI trust is extremely useful whether you currently receive benefits, or if there’s a chance that you may claim means tested benefits in the future.

If I went into residential care would a PI trust protect my compensation?

If you need to go into residential care at some point in the future, setting up a PI trust will protect your compensation as you will still be entitled to Local Authority funding for your care home fees.

How does a Personal Injury Trust operate?

Usually, you would be appointed as one of the trustees and you would choose a close relative or friend to act as the other trustee.

The money in the trust is to be used for your benefit. When you require funds you would submit a request to the trustees.

The trustees are under an obligation to take financial advice to ensure that the money is invested wisely. Your trustees are also under an obligation to always act in your best interests.

What can be put into my trust account?

The only money that can be put into the trust account is your compensation money.

The one year disregard

Any compensation paid in respect of a PI claim is disregarded for the purposes of means testing for a period of one year from the date that the first interim payment was made.

A PI trust must be set up within a year of the first compensation payment. The process can take a few months so steps should be taken to set up the trust well before the end of the year, otherwise there‘s a danger that your entitlement to benefits could be lost.

It’s a good idea to take advice during this period in order to discuss your plans with regard to the compensation and to decide whether a PI trust would be useful.