The use of trusts is on the rise in the UK as their role in estate and succession planning continues to grow in importance, according to Utmost Wealth Solutions.

The firm’s analysis of the latest HMRC data through the Trust Registration Service showed there were around 835,000 trusts and estates registered up to 31 March 2025, and remained open as at 29 August 2025.

There were 121,000 new registrations for trusts and estates in the 2024/25 financial year, making up around a seventh of the total.

This sustained increase in registrations reflected the increasing relevance of trusts, Utmost said, with more families being drawn into inheritance tax (IHT) by the freeze to thresholds.

Rising property values and asset growth had resulted in steady growth in the proportion of estates liable to IHT, with an estimated one in 10 expected to be liable by 2030/31.

Other recent policy changes, including the tighter treatment of agricultural and business property reliefs and proposals to bring unused pensions into scope of IHT on death, were likely to have further increased interest in trusts among high net worth families and financial advisers, Utmost noted.

Utmost Wealth Solutions global wealth specialist, Marc Acheson, highlighted that trusts continued to be used as a core planning tool to gift assets, organise succession, and manage long-term family wealth.

“The continued growth in trust registrations is entirely understandable,” he continued.

“With the IHT nil-rate band frozen for more than 15 years and the tax base being widened through successive policy changes, more families are finding themselves exposed to IHT and are turning to trusts as a well-established way of organising succession and mitigating long-term liabilities.

“What is becoming increasingly apparent, however, is that while trust usage is rising, so too is the complexity that comes with acting as a trustee.”

Trustees are facing expanded automatic exchange of information (AEOI) obligations, with mandatory AEOI rules being extended to trusts that meet the financial assets test because they are considered ‘managed investment entities’.

Acheson added: “With the regulatory burden growing, fulfilling fiduciary duties has become significantly more demanding.

“Therefore, who to appoint as trustee – and whether they have the expertise, systems and regulatory resilience to cope with today’s requirements – has never been more critical.”

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