Personal Injury Trusts
Protecting Your Compensation and Benefits
Call 020 7485 8811 to speak with a specialist today.
“Osbornes is a well-regarded personal injury practice well equipped to advise on high-value and high-profile claims.”
“Osbornes fields a specialist personal injury team with standout expertise in catastrophic trauma, regularly securing multimillion-pound settlements in spinal, brain, and amputation cases. “
Table of Contents
Receiving compensation after a serious injury can bring financial security. However, without the right legal structure in place, that capital may affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits or local authority support. A personal injury trust allows you to ring-fence your award and ensure it is used for your long-term needs.
At Osbornes Law, our specialist solicitors have extensive experience in setting up and managing personal injury trusts. We work closely with you and your family to ensure your compensation is safeguarded and used effectively.
What is a Personal Injury Trust (PIT)?
A personal injury trust is a legal arrangement designed to hold compensation specifically awarded for a personal injury, including out-of-court settlements and CICA awards. Instead of keeping the funds in your personal bank account—where they count as personal capital—the money is placed into a trust and managed by appointed trustees.
The key purpose is to ensure your compensation is disregarded when assessing your eligibility for:
- Means-tested benefits (such as Universal Credit or ESA)
- Local authority care funding
- Housing support
Why Consider a Personal Injury Trust?
If you have received or expect to receive compensation, setting up a trust offers several critical advantages:
1. Protect Your Benefits
Compensation held in a personal injury trust is legally disregarded in financial assessments. This allows you to retain access to the benefits you rely on for day-to-day living.
2. Preserve Your Compensation
A trust ensures your funds are used for their intended purpose, such as ongoing care, rehabilitation, or specialist equipment, rather than being exhausted on costs that the state would otherwise cover.
3. Provide Financial Oversight
Trustees help manage the funds responsibly, offering reassurance that your money is protected from outside influence and properly administered.
The 52-Week Rule: When Should You Set Up a Trust?
Timing is critical. Under UK Social Security legislation, the DWP typically applies a 52-week disregard period. This starts from the day you receive your first payment (including interim payments). During this window, the capital is ignored for benefit assessment purposes.
However, we strongly recommend establishing your trust before you receive your first payment. Relying on the grace period can lead to administrative delays, benefit suspensions, or “notional capital” disputes if the funds are not moved into a trust account promptly.
Choosing Between a Bare Trust and a Discretionary Trust
There are different types of trusts available, depending on your needs:
- Bare Trust: Suitable for individuals with mental capacity who wish to retain absolute entitlement to the trust capital. Trustees act solely on your instructions.
- Discretionary Trust: Trustees decide how and when funds are distributed. This offers greater protection for vulnerable individuals or those requiring long-term care oversight.
Choosing the Right Trustees
Selecting trustees is a crucial decision. Trustees should be trustworthy, financially responsible, and willing to act in your best interests. Most trusts require at least two trustees. You may choose a combination of family members and professional trustees, such as solicitors, to provide expertise and continuity.
How Osbornes Law Can Help
Our team provides clear, practical advice at every stage. We can:
- Advise on the most suitable trust structure for your circumstances.
- Set up the trust quickly to meet DWP deadlines.
- Provide ongoing trust management and administration.
- Work alongside your personal injury solicitor to ensure a seamless transition of funds.
Speak to a Specialist Solicitor
A personal injury trust provides long-term peace of mind and financial stability. Contact Osbornes Law today to discuss your options and ensure your recovery is fully supported.
- Call 020 7485 8811, or
- Fill in the form below
FAQs about personal injury trusts
Do I need a personal injury trust?
You may benefit from a personal injury trust if you have received, or are expecting to receive, compensation and rely on means-tested benefits or local authority support.
Without a trust, your compensation could be treated as personal savings. This may affect your entitlement to financial support such as:
- Universal Credit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- Local authority care funding
A trust allows you to protect your compensation so it is not included in these assessments. It can also help ensure your funds are used for your long-term needs, including care, rehabilitation, and daily living.
Even if you are not currently claiming benefits, a trust can provide flexibility and protection for the future. Taking advice early helps you make the right decision based on your circumstances.
How long do I have to set up a PI trust?
You typically have 52 weeks from the date you receive your compensation to set up a personal injury trust.
During this period, your compensation is usually disregarded in benefit assessments. However, once this timeframe passes, any remaining funds held in your personal account may be taken into account.
Setting up a trust as soon as possible helps to:
- Avoid any risk to your benefits
- Ensure your compensation is protected from the outset
- Provide clarity on how the funds will be managed
In many cases, it is best to start the process before your compensation is paid so the trust can be set up immediately.
What happens if I don’t set one up?
If you do not place your compensation into a personal injury trust, it will usually be treated as part of your personal assets.
This can lead to several consequences:
- Loss or reduction of means-tested benefits
- Increased contributions towards care fees
- Less control over how your compensation is preserved long-term
For individuals with significant compensation awards, this can have a substantial financial impact over time.
Without a trust structure, there is also a greater risk that funds may be spent too quickly or not managed in a way that supports your long-term needs.
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Personal Injury Accreditations
Rob Aylott is adept at handling sensitive and complex catastrophic injury claims.
The team offers specialist expertise in cycling-related injury claims and regularly acts for foreign nationals.
It has considerable experience in cases arising from motor accidents and accidents at work.
Osbornes has a well-regarded personal injury practice well equipped to advise on high-value and high-profile claims, including fatalities and severe injuries regarding the brain and spinal cord.
Osbornes have expert leadership. They are very client-centred and provide great communication.
They have got a team of strong partners who are experienced and capable, and their lawyers have a can-do attitude and don't seem to be fazed by anything.
They grasp complex and sophisticated matters quickly.
From partners to associates, the lawyers are committed to ensuring a successful outcome for every client.
They have intelligent, experienced lawyers who advise their clients very carefully.
Osbornes deal with their clients in a very professional manner, attempting to get the best results at all times.
Sam Collard, head of cycling, specialises in severe injury and fatal accident cases.
Rob Aylott leads on amputation disputes, often working with major trauma units.
Department head Sophie Davies handles severe injury and fatality matters with a focus on early rehabilitation.
Ben Posford, head of catastrophic injury, is well-known for spinal cord and cauda equina claims, including high-profile fatality work.
Osbornes fields a specialist personal injury team with standout expertise in catastrophic trauma, regularly securing multimillion-pound settlements in spinal, brain, and amputation cases.
Excellent firm with a good insight into and prosecution of catastrophic PI work handled by an experienced team.
Without doubt, Osbornes are the firm to watch in London.
This team is growing in profile all the time. The firm now has many of London's leading personal injury solicitors.
The file handlers I have worked with are experienced and expert personal injury practitioners who can be relied upon to achieve excellent outcomes for the client.
They are very supportive of their clients and are willing to take on difficult cases.
This team is very well organised and approach their cases with great attention to detail.
They have particular expertise in dealing with Eastern European clients who speak little or no English as they have native speakers within their team.
Osbornes is a excellent firm for high value and complex personal injury work.
Osbornes Law is a really strong team with a lot of depth.
Osbornes work professionally as a team, responding diligently to emails or telephone calls.
Osbornes fields a solid team of high quality practitioners, active in a range of catastrophic injury claims.
Osbornes clients are individuals whose cases are treated with the focus required when dealing with life changing injuries.
Fielding a ‘first class, very well resourced’ team of litigators, the personal injury department at Osbornes is rated for its diverse workload of complex, high-value injury claims, representing both domestic and international claimants.
Osbornes is an excellent firm, made up of lawyers with flair and pedigree.
Osbornes lawyers are smart, well trained, experienced and well managed.
Osbornes personal injury practice is first class; very well resourced and second to none.
Osbornes is becoming one of the top players in the claimant personal injury market. A large team with a great number of very high quality solicitors.
Osbornes is a highly proficient serious injury firm. They bring all the benefits of the biggest firms in the market but none of the downsides.
Their team includes bright, hard-working solicitors dedicated to achieving successful outcomes for their clients from partner level to paralegal. Their client care is exceptional.
They are a team who are highly respected in the PI sector.
This is an excellent PI team doing a broad range of PI work.
Osbornes’ ‘highly respected‘ personal injury team is experienced in a range of complex, high-value claims, with notable strength in acting for European clients for whom English is not a first language.
Osbornes’ ‘highly respected‘ personal injury team is experienced in a range of complex, high-value claims
Osbornes’ ‘highly respected‘ personal injury team is experienced in a range of complex, high-value claims.
"Osbornes always provides work of excellent quality and the advice is sound."
"The firm has the ability to handle the most sophisticated and complex matters."
"Osbornes is always client-focused and works tirelessly to obtain the best outcomes."
"They punch well above their weight. The quality of service they provide equals that of any of the larger top-name firms in this area"
Ben Posford is fiercely bright, with an unrivalled passion for his clients’ cases. His encyclopaedic knowledge of all things PI is second to none. His foresight and commercial nous have propelled Osbornes into the highest echelons of the market where they rightly belong.
The firm has an excellent and innovative line in cases involving non-English speaking claimants, managed by recruiting paralegals with multi-language skills – an impressive route for expansion of the caseload.
Great expanding team with expertise and respect in the sector. Led by a commercially savvy and business minded team.
A really excellent group of PI solicitors, notable for their individual quality.’
A niche firm that punches well above its weight in the catastrophic injury sector, borne out by the quality of work they obtain.
This combination of experience and diligence reaps massive rewards for clients, Osbornes being well known in the industry as a fantastic firm.
The Osbornes personal injury team now comprises some of the most technically adept and hard hitting lawyers in the business.
Ben Posford is one of London’s best catastrophic injury lawyers, in my view. He is a real brain injury specialist.
Excellent coverage of personal injury, and traumatic brain injury. There is a real specialism in claimants who do not speak English as a first language.
The group is noted for its expertise in matters relating to cycling injuries, and is the official legal partner of the London Cycling Campaign charity.
To complement its strong reputation for high-value and complex personal injury work, the firm continues to develop its 'excellent and innovative line in cases involving non-English speaking claimants'
"Osbornes comprises some of the most technically adept and hard hitting lawyers in the business"
"A small but high-powered team, dealing with cases of significant value and complexity."
"An excellent firm which achieves fantastic outcomes for clients."
"Osbornes Law have captured the magic of keeping the customer service levels of a smaller firm whilst having all the expertise and power of the biggest firms."
"A superb boutique catastrophic injury firm."
"Really good at dealing with people who have suffered a serious injury."
"Affable and charming with very good client-handling skills."
"superb firm with consummate professionals and a human touch."
Osbornes now has a team of highly experienced personal injury lawyers; particularly strong on high-value quantum cases, workplace accidents and claims involving foreign workers injured in the UK.
The team provides fantastic strength-in-depth for personal injury claims. It is also particularly well placed to service clients from Eastern Europe with specialist native language speakers. From the smallest case to a multimillion-pound spinal injury case, Osbornes has the right staff to manage every claim.
Ben Posford remains pre-eminent in his field with expert understanding of litigating cases of the upmost severity. His experience builds on Stuart Kightley’s running of the firm with recent partner additions of Rob Aylott making a fantastic addition.
A firm going from strength-to strength-which retains its client care whilst being able to offer a full personal injury service.
Beneath Ben Posford’s calm and reassuring presence, which clients love, lies a formidable tactical and legal brain. His experience tells and he gets it right at every stage of the process from arranging the best possible rehabilitation, to ensuring, so far as possible, a polite relationship with those acting for the defendant in order to ensure best and early resolution of the claim.
"Clients say he is very impressive, in terms of both his experience and his management of the personal injury team."
"They have an expanding profile in personal injury and clinical negligence and offer a superb, broad service in accidents abroad, enabled by their recruitment of bilingual legal executives who can guide non-English speakers through complex litigation."
"Solid personal injury practice well equipped to advise on high-value and high-profile claims arising from fatalities and severe head and spinal injuries."
"Offers specialist expertise in cycling-related injury claims."
"Offers specialist expertise in cauda equina syndrome cases."
"An exceptional outfit. They take on difficult cases, fight hard and win."
"Stuart Kightley is an incredibly empathetic solicitor who is very knowledgeable about traumatic brain injury."
"They are an outstanding firm to work with. They are consistently impressive in their work."
"Osbornes often handles claims valued at over £1m, particularly relating to severe brain and spinal cord injuries and niche areas such as cauda equina syndrome and cycling accidents."
"The hard-working, thorough and committed Robert Aylott, who brings significant heavyweight personal injury experience."
"Key team members include the energetic and personable Stuart Kightley who is head of the personal injury department."
Thank you for the hard work and patience and for being so patient with my constant questions.
"I have found Osbornes to be thorough, clear and understanding from the initial call. They do exactly what they say they will and with passion! I would recommend them to anyone".
Very good efficient service. Would not hesitate to use again.
I will use Osbornes for any future needs.
I don't think I could have asked for anything more. One of the best dealings I've had with the legal profession.
Sam was excellent and very professional in dealing with our claim.
Head of the personal injury department, Stuart Kightley is a first-rate practitioner, wholly focused on getting his client the best outcome in a pragmatic, sensible and consensual manner.
As a real specialist in spinal cord injuries, Ben Posford is always looking at new angles on how to maximise his cases.
Ben Posford is one of the best catastrophic injury lawyers around.
They provide exceptional service, great knowledge and understanding of the law, excellent client care and tactical nous
Stuart Kightley is praised for his expertise in catastrophic and fatal claims. Clients say he is very impressive, in terms of both his experience and his management of the personal injury team.
My claim was dealt with efficiently and professionally. Communication was excellent, and timely. Shrewd and sound advice was provided at every stage of the claim from beginning through to completion. On the basis of my personal experience I would strongly recommend Osbornes.
I just wish to thank you for your hard work and successful outcome. I am pleased with the result and would recommend you and your firm to anyone in the future.
Ben Posford … is ‘tactically astute’ and ‘one of the best personal injury solicitors around’.
Ben Posford ‘knows how to maximise the value of the claim for his clients’.
