HEMS in practice
Most trusts give trustees discretion to distribute for a beneficiary's Health, Education, Maintenance, and Support (HEMS). HEMS is not a blank check — it ties to the beneficiary's accustomed standard of living and is constrained by the trust's overall purpose.
Walk through scenarios: a beneficiary wants a luxury vehicle vs. a reliable used car; a graduate school request when the trust hasn't funded prior education; a medical request for an experimental treatment. Document the reasoning every time.
Watch out
Trustees who say 'yes' to one branch and 'no' to another without written reasoning invite breach-of-loyalty claims.