When Property, Trusts and Tax Collide: Why Collaboration Matters

Like many people, I’ve been following the headlines around Angela Rayner’s property arrangements. I’m not interested in the politics, but the case does highlight something I see time and again in my own work: the way property ownership, trusts and tax can become complicated very quickly.

I’ve spent over 30 years advising clients with complex financial affairs — including those who own more than one property. Time and again I’ve seen how even well-drafted legal documents can miss the bigger financial picture. That’s not a criticism of the legal profession.

Solicitors and conveyancers are highly skilled in their own areas, but their focus is understandably on the transaction in front of them: completing the sale, drawing up the deed, or drafting the trust.

Where things sometimes go awry is in the way those arrangements interact with tax rules, or with longer-term financial planning. For example, a trust might achieve its immediate legal purpose but have unforeseen tax consequences down the line. I’ve sat with clients who only discovered these implications years later — and by then, unpicking the situation could be costly or impossible.

This is where financial advice, particularly from someone qualified in estate and trust planning*, adds real value. Our role is to look at how all the pieces fit together: the property, the trust, the tax treatment, the wider family finances. When we work closely with solicitors, accountants and tax advisers, clients get the full picture and can make informed choices they won’t later regret.

Let’s picture a couple who, with the best of intentions, put a buy-to-let into trust. The trust gave them legal certainty, but because it wasn’t planned alongside financial advice, the tax impact was overlooked. In cases like that, I’ve sat down with the family, their solicitor and an accountant to map out the options: whether that’s unwinding the trust, switching the property’s use, or re-balancing other assets. It’s not about criticising the legal advice — it’s about making sure the legal and financial pieces of the puzzle fit together. And I can tell you, this isn’t theory: I’ve handled many similar situations.

Stories like these remind me why collaboration is so important. At Ginkgo, we’ve always believed the best outcomes come when professionals work together. That’s why we maintain strong relationships with solicitors, accountants and tax advisers here in south east London. It means our clients — whether they’re based in Blackheath, Greenwich, or beyond — can rely on a joined-up approach that considers the legal, financial and tax angles side by side.

In my experience, that kind of teamwork is what really gives clients peace of mind.

By Daren Wallbank, Chartered Financial Planner and Co-owner, Ginkgo Financial