Matthew Perry’s Discretionary Trust Will

When Friends star Matthew Pery died in October 2023, he left a Discretionary Trust Will over his £1 million estate.

Matthew created his will in 2009 and left all his personal and household effects, including but not limited to jewellery, furniture and furnishings, works of art and automobiles, together with any insurance on such property, into a Discretionary Trust Will.

According to the will, the beneficiaries who could potentially receive something from the Trust were his father, mother, half-sister and ex-girlfriend. With this type of will, it is up to the discretion of the trustees (the people listed as executors in the will) to decide how the estate is to be divided.

The Benefits of Discretionary Trusts

By making a Discretionary Trust Will, you give the trustees the decision of how and when to distribute the assets. This is important for several reasons. For example, if a beneficiary is irresponsible with money, you want the trustees to decide what happens.

It allows the trustees to weigh up the different needs of the beneficiaries and have the freedom to appoint out the funds in various ways. This is because there is more flexibility, and assets can be protected if a beneficiary’s financial or personal circumstances change in the future. The trustees can separate the income and capital in different ways or leave the estate to one person over the others; it is completely up to the trustees as to how the assets are divided up.

Adapting to Changing Circumstances

A beneficiary’s individual circumstances can change a lot from the time someone puts in place a will to when someone passes away. For example, they may be declared bankrupt, so it would not be beneficial for them to receive anything. Or they could be going through a divorce, so it would not be advantageous to give them anything if the funds are going to be counted as part of a financial settlement. If a beneficiary is in receipt of certain benefits, then they will lose their entitlement to this financial support if they receive funds outright if they are above a certain value.

In this scenario, 14 years passed since Matthew made his will, so had he updated it closer to the time of his death, he may have chosen to update it. When he made his will, he was still with his ex-girlfriend, and he intended for her to benefit from the Trust in some way. The trustees may, therefore, decide not to leave her a share of Matthew’s estate as a number of years have passed since they were together, but it is up to their discretion.

The Importance of Regular Reviews

Matthew’s death 14 shows the importance of regularly reviewing your will to ensure that it is kept up to date so that the people you want to inherit it do so. There may be other beneficiaries that he would have liked to have included in his will who were left out because he did not update his will.

Planning Ahead

You can update your will as many times as you like so long as you have mental capacity. If you are considering putting in place a Discretionary Trust Will, then it is important to consider who the potential beneficiaries will be. This can include people who have not been born yet, such as children or grandchildren.

It is also important to decide who the executors of your will are, as these are usually the same people who will administer the Trust.