What is a Property Protection Trust, and how does it work?

1. You and your partner own the home as tenants in common, so each of you owns half. Many couples own as joint tenants, so this usually needs changing first.
2. You each make a will that includes a trust.
3. When the first partner dies, their half goes into the trust rather than straight to the survivor.
4. The survivor can live in the home for as long as they wish.
5. When the survivor dies, the trust’s half goes to the children or other beneficiaries named.

• Couples with children from earlier relationships
• Couples whose home is their main asset
• People worried that the survivor might remarry, and the home end up with someone else’s family
• People who want to protect their share against future care costs

It protects your share from sideways disinheritance, and it can help your children inherit as you intended. On care fees, the half held in trust is not part of the survivor’s own assets, so it may not be counted if they need care. The surviving partner’s own half still counts, and councils can challenge arrangements made to avoid care fees. A trust needs to be set up for good reasons, when care is not foreseeable. See can you protect your home from care fees?

Our Property Protection Trust package, with mirror wills and four Lasting Powers of Attorney, is £1,295. The OPG registration fee for the LPAs is extra. See our fees and the Property Protection Trust page.