McClures Family Protection Trusts – Are You One of the Thousands Affected?

McClures Solicitors, a firm originally based in Greenock and Glasgow in Scotland, and more recently south of the border, went into administration in 2021. Since then, concerns have been raised over problems arising from the legal work completed by the firm.

It is reported that, at the time of their administration, McClures Solicitors were involved with 18,840 Family Protection Trusts and had around 88,000 clients in England and Wales alone. Since the firm entered administration, both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Ombudsman have been investigating the legal work carried out by McClures.

The issues caused by McClures have even been discussed in parliament after Kate Osborne MP disclosed that she had been contacted by constituents who had been unable to move house due to complications created by Family Protection Trusts. In 2024 Ms Osborne tabled a motion "calling for the Government to identify the thousands of cases and support those affected by the McClures Solicitors scandal".

What are 'Family Protection Trusts'?

Family Protection Trusts are trusts that typically hold the family home and other financial assets. They were sold to clients on the basis that they protect those assets against potential risks that may arise in the future, such as inheritance tax, care fees, bankruptcy, mental incapacity, death and divorce. These trusts were particularly popular with individuals and couples planning to prevent the family home and other assets from being used to pay for care home fees. However, it is alleged that the legal advisers failed to properly advise on the rules around 'deliberate deprivation' of assets.

What is Deliberate Deprivation of Assets?

Deliberate deprivation is where someone has intentionally given assets away (including to a trust), so that they are not available to pay for their care in the future. If the local authority can show that the person knew that they may need care and support in the future when they carried out this action, it can treat them as if they still own the asset for the purpose of assessing their ability to fund their own care. This means that the local authority may avoid funding the cost of the care, putting immense pressure on the wider family. There is no time limit on such an action.

What issues arise with the McClure trusts?

For those trusts where the directors or employees of McClure Solicitors are appointed as trustees of trusts which include a property, difficulties can arise when looking to sell or transfer the property. The trustees' names will be recorded at the Land Registry as the proprietor of the property. It is not possible to sell the property without the consent of the trustees. Several people have reported experiencing continuing difficulties in obtaining information about their trusts when they have wanted to move house.

Can we help?

Sills & Betteridge appear on the recommended list of law firms assisting those affected by the issues caused by McClures, having successfully resolved issues with 'Family Protection Trusts'. We recently represented the family of an elderly person who was unable to sell their large home which was tied up in a McClures trust. This was preventing them from downsizing to a more accessible bungalow. The trustees were contacted but did not respond to many of the requests.

They finally agreed to step down as trustees if the family paid an 'administration charge' in return. Fortunately, with our intervention the trustees did eventually agree to retire and agreed not to charge their administration fee to do so.

We are an award-winning team of experienced lawyers who deal with a range of Wills, Trusts and Probate matters. If you, or someone you know, has had a trust set up and would like to have this reviewed, please contact us to see if we can help.