19th Jun 2026
When Estate Administration Isn’t the End: Legacy Will Trusts and Modern Compliance
- Category: Wills
- Published: 19th Jun 2026
- Author: Fraser Scott
- Reading time: 2 mins
There’s a new professional risk sitting quietly in many firms’ archived executry files.
The estate was administered years ago – the file was closed – everything assumed to be finished.
But within that file sits a Will trust.
Often inactive. Often unremarkable. Often just… filed away.
But in many cases, those trusts didn’t end with the estate administration. They continued.
Why this matters now
For a long time, that distinction barely mattered. But today, it does.
Even relatively inactive Will trusts can now carry a heavy compliance burden: –
- registration obligations
- ongoing reporting duties
- potential penalties for non‑compliance
Many firms simply don’t know:
- how many legacy Will trusts they hold
- whether those Will trusts are legally still live
- whether any compliance steps should have been taken
Three questions every firm should now be asking: –
- Do we know if there are any live Will trusts in our historic files?
- Do we understand the compliance obligations affecting those trusts?
- Do we know who is responsible for administering those trusts?
If those questions can’t be answered confidently, then it’s time to do something about it.
The trust compliance environment has changed considerably, bringing with it a quiet but very real professional risk.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues covered here, or if you would like to speak to one of our specialist lawyers, then please contact us or call us on 0131 225 1200.
