CG65410 | Private residence relief: settled property: express trusts for minor children

You may see a trust over a dwelling house which purports to be the only or main residence of minor children. Typically the family would have two residences. One is retained while one is transferred into a trust for the benefit of the minor children. The parents’ main residence is said to be the residence they own directly. As the children do not have a legal interest in their parents’ residence there is no need for the trustees to nominate the trust residence as the children’s main residence. The aim may be to use TCGA92/S225 to obtain private residence relief on both of the family residences. In these cases it is important to fully establish the facts. The children may not in fact have occupied the house as a residence. In cases involving minor children there may be some doubt as to whether they can live anywhere except by their parents’ permission, and not therefore under the terms of any settlement.