Find out how much you'll protect with a trust

A trust will could protect up to *

* These calculations assume joint ownership of the house and savings.

Protect up to for each of your children or beneficiaries

When you die, your property will usually go to your partner if you have mirror wills or no will. If your partner then needs to go into a care home, the entire value of the property can be used to pay for their care home fees (around £40,000 a year). These fees are taken until there’s £23,250** left. This could have a very big impact on the inheritance you want to pass to your children or other beneficiaries. If you put in place a Trust Will, half your home and savings could be protected in a trust when one of you dies, meaning it is excluded from care home fee calculations. So, there might be more to pass on to your loved ones.

** Reference care fees - the £23,250 figure is correct in England as at March 2020 (figures may vary in other parts of the UK)

Protect your home from passing to someone other than those you intended

Including a trust can give you control over what happens to your property in the long-term. You can name who you want to inherit the property, whilst allowing someone to live there after your death (but they will not own it). Then, when they die, it will go to the person or people you’ve named. For example, you could include a trust in your will that says you want your children to ultimately get the property, while allowing your partner to live there for as long as they need. When your partner dies, your children would get the property. This prevents your share of the property passing to anyone other than the people you want to benefit, for example a new husband/wife if your partner marries after your death.

Ensure your savings and investments provide for your partner during their lifetime, but ultimately pass to your children or other beneficiaries

If you own any savings, shares or investments in your sole name, you can put them into a trust to guarantee who benefits from them. You can name who you want to eventually get the savings, shares and investments (such as any children) whilst allowing someone else, such as your partner, to get any interest they produce. When that person dies (or on a date that you’ve chosen) the savings, shares and investments will go to the person or people you’ve chosen.