2 September 2025
Legacy wealth planning is increasingly important. More people are being impacted by Inheritance Tax (IHT) due to frozen IHT bands and rising house prices, and that’s before unused pension funds are brought into scope from April 2027.
As more people look for solutions, an increasing number are turning to trusts. This can be a complex area and advisers and their clients will require additional support. For some, this will mean the use of a professional trustee service to lessen the burden on family and friends and guarantee the trust is set up and run smoothly and efficiently.
As such, Quilter, the wealth manager, has entered a new arrangement with ZEDRA, a leading independent trustee service provider, to make it more efficient for advisers and their clients to appoint a professional trustee on Quilter trusts.
ZEDRA can now be appointed as a trustee on new and existing Quilter trusts to fulfil requirements including setting up and registering the trust, IHT calculations, ongoing services and actioning withdrawals. In addition, Quilter trust customers will benefit from discounted fees compared to if they appointed ZEDRA directly.
This new arrangement is another instalment of a series of developments which aim to support advisers and their clients as more turn to trusts, and follows the recent launch of Quilter’s Lifestyle Trust policy fund management tool and its suite of ‘how-to’ guides for each of its trusts.
Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter says:
“An increasing number of advisers and their clients are reassessing how wealth is structured and are turning to trusts to help them mitigate inheritance tax and safeguard financial legacies. At Quilter, we’ve seen an almost 200% increase in the number of Lifestyle Trusts opened in 2024 compared to 2023, and uptake in 2025 is on track to far surpass this level.
“The role of trustee can be a daunting task, particularly so for more complex cases, and this can act as a barrier for some clients who worry about appointing their family or friends. Through our arrangement with ZEDRA, we hope to make it as easy as possible to benefit from the services of a professional trustee.
“This arrangement forms part of our ongoing commitment to supporting informed financial planning conversations between advisers and their clients and is complemented by Quilter’s robust technical support and helpdesk availability which continues to be an invaluable resource in this changing landscape.”
Sue Wakefield, Director at ZEDRA adds:
“ZEDRA is delighted to support Quilter’s trust clients by providing a professional trustee service.
With over 55 years of experience as a professional trustee, we are seeing a growing interest in the use of trusts to support the transfer of wealth to future generations.
“Our highly qualified and experienced trust practitioners offer clients peace of mind, impartial guidance and ongoing support, ensuring their trusts are managed efficiently and competently.
“Increasing compliance and regulatory requirements have made it more challenging for family members to act as trustees; our professional trustee service removes this risk and relieves families of this burden.”
