In this post i’m talking about protecting your property as part of your overall estate planning. For many people their family home is their most important asset that they want to see passed down the generations to their family. The family home is also the asset they’d hate to see lost to pay for inheritance tax or local authority charges. I get asked the question ‘can I protect my property’ often, in many cases the answer is yes you can, but beware there are very very many people out there who are selling one-size-fits-all property trusts. These are when you give up ownership of your property and pass it into a trust during your lifetime. Whilst in certain circumstances these type of trusts can work, it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation and you really need to take expert professional advice.
Putting your home into a Protected Property Trust
If you’re considering passing your home into a family trust by far the easiest thing to do, especially if you’re married, is to use a protected property trust within your Will. A protected property trust within your will ensures that the family home is protected for
future generations when you die. This trust gives your partner or your spouse the right to live in the house for the rest of their
lives unencumbered and unfettered by any rules, but it means that your house will always go to a family member after your
death. This the best way to protect your property, it’s the right thing to do and we do it for many people. It’s the sort of thing that’s not subject to the local authority challenge and therefore it’s safe.
As I say, you can put your house into a lifetime family trust but if you do that you need to take advice, we would be happy to help you and if it’s right for you we’ll do that for you. The safer thing to do is to use a protected property trust again if it’s right for you and your family circumstances we’d be happy to do that. Please contact us to arrange a free consultation and get your family home protected.
