“There is a curse. They say: may you live in interesting times.” – ref Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times. We’re working hard to make sure that from the point of view of EVERYTHING we do they are not interesting or uncertain times.

Are you looking to set up a Guernsey Retirement Annuity Trust (“RATs”)? Or are you and friends / colleagues presently Trustee of your own RATs and want to get it looked after professionally? Or have you been informed by your current professional trustee that it no longer wants your business? Read on to find out more...

Whether or not you agree with this statement (and let’s be honest, there are probably not many people that do) it has at least encouraged you to read this far.

Other than the bigger UK and international businesses, there are few Guernsey businesses that have been around for more than one or two generations. Some businesses fail because their products or services are no longer needed or because they have suffered some calamity. But there are many which just fade away because their owners have failed to do any proper succession planning.

At Collenette Jones we must have seen hundreds of new business start-ups , many successful but some not. Here are a few key points to consider at the outset.