Property cannot be tied up in a trust forever. Gifts (eg to a particular child, or a group of people who satisfy a particular condition) must vest within the perpetuity period.

The perpetuity period was 80 years. However, that became 125 years on 5 April (ie it applies to all lifetime trusts set up after 5 April, and to all will trusts executed after 5 April – so care is needed when drafting codicils). Trustees of some existing trusts that use lives in being which have an uncertain perpetuity period will be able to elect whether to apply a fixed perpetuity period of 100 years.

There are also changes to the accumulation period (ie the period during which trustees can accumulate income and add it to capital). Previously this was 21 years, but from 5 April accumulation can be for the entirety of the trust period. As a note in the NLJ says, this means that the 22-year-old hippie beneficiary with a penchant for illicit drugs and lottery cards can now be denied the income. See [2010] NLJ 261.