Letter of Wishes UK: What It Is, Why Every Trust Needs One, and How to Write Yours

Most families who set up a trust focus entirely on the trust deed — and then forget about the letter of wishes altogether. That's a mistake.

The trust deed is the legal architecture. The letter of wishes is where you actually tell your trustees what you want. Without it, your trustees are making judgment calls in the dark. With it, they have a map.

This guide explains what a letter of wishes is, how it works alongside your trust, what to include in it, and why every family trust needs one.

What is a letter of wishes?

A letter of wishes is a private document written by the settlor — the person who created the trust — addressed to the trustees. It explains how the settlor would like the trust to be managed and how assets should be distributed among beneficiaries.

Unlike the trust deed, a letter of wishes is not legally binding. Trustees are not obliged to follow it to the letter. But they are expected to take it seriously, and in practice it is the primary document trustees refer to when making distribution decisions. Courts have in some cases treated letters of wishes as evidence of the settlor's intentions when trust disputes arise.

The key distinction: the trust deed sets the legal rules. The letter of wishes sets the human intention behind them.

How does a letter of wishes work with a trust?

To understand the letter of wishes, you first need to understand how a discretionary trust works. If you're new to trusts, the family discretionary trust guide covers the full picture.

In a discretionary trust, the trustees have discretion over who benefits, how much, and when. No beneficiary has a fixed entitlement — that flexibility is the whole point. It protects assets from being claimed by creditors, shields beneficiaries from their own financial decisions, and allows the trust to adapt to changing circumstances over time.

But that discretion has to come from somewhere. Without a letter of wishes, trustees are guessing. They don't know whether you want your eldest daughter to receive more because she's a single parent, or whether your son's history with debt should influence when he receives distributions, or what you'd want to happen if two beneficiaries fall out with each other.

The letter of wishes fills those gaps. It's the bridge between the legal framework the trust deed creates and the real-world intentions you have for your family.

The relationship works like this:

• Trust deed — legally binding, sets out the powers and rules of the trust, names trustees and beneficiaries, governs how the trust operates
• Letter of wishes — not legally binding, guides how trustees should exercise their discretion, reflects your personal intentions and family circumstances

Both documents should be reviewed together. A family discretionary trust UK without a letter of wishes is like a set of instructions without an explanation of why.

What should a letter of wishes include?

There is no fixed format — a letter of wishes is intentionally flexible. But a good letter of wishes typically covers the following:

• Beneficiaries and their circumstances — don't just name them, explain them. A child who is financially responsible at 35 is different from one who has struggled with debt. A grandchild who is too young to manage money needs different guidance than an adult beneficiary. Give your trustees context about each beneficiary's situation, needs, and maturity.

• How and when distributions should be made — should distributions be staggered over time rather than paid in a lump sum? Should trustees favour regular income distributions or occasional capital payments? Do you want distributions to fund specific things — education, housing deposits, business start-up costs — rather than general living expenses?

• Specific assets — if the trust holds a family home, a share portfolio, or a business interest, give your trustees guidance on how you'd like those specific assets handled. Should the family home be kept for use by beneficiaries, or sold? Should business shares be retained or liquidated?

• Guidance on disputes — what should trustees do if beneficiaries disagree with each other, or with the trustees' decisions? Setting out your preferred approach in advance reduces the risk of conflict escalating.

• Legacy and charitable wishes — if you have views on charitable giving, or wishes around how your legacy should be remembered, this is the place to record them.

• Funeral and personal wishes — some settlors use the letter of wishes to record preferences around their own funeral, end-of-life care, or personal effects. While these matters are technically dealt with elsewhere, having them in one document that trustees hold can be practically useful.

Is a letter of wishes legally binding?

No — and that is actually a feature, not a limitation.

If the letter of wishes were legally binding, it would need to be executed with the same formality as the trust deed. More importantly, a binding letter of wishes would make the trust less flexible. Circumstances change — beneficiaries' lives change, family dynamics shift, assets grow or diminish. If trustees were obliged to follow a letter of wishes written twenty years ago to the letter, it could produce outcomes that are actively harmful to the people you wanted to protect.

The non-binding nature of the letter of wishes preserves trustee discretion — which is what makes a discretionary trust work. But it doesn't mean the letter is toothless. UK courts have considered letters of wishes as evidence of a settlor's intentions in trust disputes. Trustees who depart significantly from the letter without good reason can be called to account. In practice, most trustees treat the letter of wishes as their primary guide precisely because it reflects what the settlor actually wanted.

The combination — legally binding trust deed, persuasive letter of wishes — gives families both structure and flexibility. The trust adapts to changing circumstances; the letter of wishes ensures that adaptation stays true to the settlor's real intentions.

Who sees a letter of wishes?

A letter of wishes is a private document. It is not filed with any public register — unlike a will, which becomes a public document once probate is granted. It is held by the trustees, kept separately from the trust deed.

Beneficiaries may or may not see the letter, depending on what the settlor prefers. There is no legal obligation to show beneficiaries the contents of a letter of wishes, and many settlors specifically request that trustees keep it confidential. This is sensible: beneficiaries who know exactly what the letter says may attempt to manipulate trustee decisions or challenge them in court.

The standard approach is:

• Trustees hold the letter and refer to it when making decisions
• Beneficiaries are told a letter of wishes exists, but its contents are not automatically disclosed
• The settlor can specify in the letter how much — if anything — they want shared with beneficiaries

The Trust Registration Service requires basic trust information to be registered with HMRC, but the letter of wishes itself is not part of that registration. For more on what the Trust Registration Service requires and how to comply, see our dedicated guide.

Can a letter of wishes be changed?

Yes — and this is one of its most important advantages over the trust deed.

Amending a trust deed is a formal legal process, often requiring a deed of variation and careful consideration of any tax consequences. Many changes are not permitted at all without triggering problems. A letter of wishes, by contrast, can be updated at any time. You simply write a new letter, sign and date it, and give it to your trustees with a note that it supersedes the previous version.

This flexibility means your letter of wishes can evolve with your family. Review it:

• Every three to five years as a routine matter, to ensure it still reflects your intentions
• After the birth or adoption of a new beneficiary
• After a marriage or divorce — yours or a beneficiary's
• After the death of a beneficiary or trustee
• After a significant change in assets — a property purchase, a business sale, an inheritance received
• After any change in a beneficiary's circumstances — a health diagnosis, a financial difficulty, a major career change

The letter of wishes should be a living document, not something written once and forgotten. The more current it is, the more useful it is to your trustees.

Letter of wishes vs. will — what's the difference?

This is one of the most common points of confusion, and it's worth being clear.

A will deals with your estate after you die. Everything you own personally — property, bank accounts, investments not held in a trust — passes under your will (or under the intestacy rules if you have no will). Your will goes through probate, becomes a public document, and is administered by your executors. If you haven't written a will yet, our guide to writing your will walks through everything you need to know.

A letter of wishes deals with the trust specifically. It guides your trustees — during your lifetime and after your death — on how to manage and distribute the trust assets. The trust sits outside your estate for most purposes, so the letter of wishes operates in a different legal space from the will entirely.

The two documents are designed to work together:

• Your trust holds the assets you've placed into it
• Your will deals with anything outside the trust — and should be coordinated with your trust structure to avoid gaps or duplication
• Your letter of wishes guides your trustees throughout — while you're alive and after you're gone

Getting all three aligned is part of what serious inheritance tax planning looks like. Each document plays a different role; together they create a complete picture.

Do I need a solicitor to write a letter of wishes?

No. Unlike a trust deed, a letter of wishes does not need to meet formal legal requirements. There are no prescribed words, no requirement for witnesses, and no registration. A letter of wishes simply needs to:

• Be written clearly
• Be signed and dated by the settlor
• Express your intentions in terms your trustees can act on
• Be kept with the trust documents, in a location your trustees can access

This is a document families can prepare with proper guidance — and that is exactly what Heirs & Order™ provides. You don't need to pay solicitor rates for a document that doesn't require legal formality. You do need it to be clear, complete, and tailored to your actual family circumstances — which is why having a structured template prepared specifically for you matters.

How Heirs & Order™ helps

The Family Protection Pack from Heirs & Order™ includes a personalised Letter of Wishes template alongside the Family Discretionary Trust Deed and Nominee Declaration — the three core documents every UK family trust needs.

Here's how it works:

1. Choose your pack — select the Family Protection Pack (£197)

2. Complete the intake questionnaire — answer questions about your family, your beneficiaries, your assets, and your intentions for the trust

3. Specialist document preparation — our specialist team prepares your personalised Letter of Wishes and Trust Deed based on your answers

4. Download within 72 hours — your complete document pack is ready to download

5. Review with a solicitor if desired — for straightforward family situations, many families use their documents directly; for more complex circumstances, a solicitor review gives additional peace of mind

The questionnaire is designed to draw out exactly the kind of information your letter of wishes needs to be useful — beneficiary circumstances, distribution preferences, asset guidance, and more. The result is a document that reflects your real family situation, not a generic template.

Protecting your family's future shouldn't require a five-figure solicitor's bill. Heirs & Order™ was built so that every family — not just wealthy ones — can have proper documents in place.

Protect Your Legacy — Family Protection Pack, £197 →

This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Heirs & Order™ is not a law firm. We recommend all documents are reviewed by a qualified solicitor before use.