Other Services

We can help you with additional products and services to further protect your assets and plan for the future.

Trusts

Trusts are a valuable and increasingly popular way of ring-fencing your assets and protecting them for future generations. There are many types of trust and we are happy to discuss your needs and match them with the options available. One example is given below:

Property Protection Trusts (PPT)

A major concern for many older people is that after many years of paying off their mortgage and planning a good inheritance for their children, their home may be ultimately unfairly used to fund care costs in later life. This may happen if you have just made a simple mirror Will.

On first death, your home will default to your surviving partner. If the survivor then goes into care and no other assets are available to fund care costs, the Local Authority will means-test 100% of the property value and this may lead to an unwanted sale of the property.

A Protective Property Trust (PPT) can help you protect your share of the home and ensure that it is passed on to the people you care about.

Frequently Asked Questions about a Property Protection Trust

General1

Most people own their property jointly as 'Beneficial Joint Tenants', meaning that typically the house passes to their spouse on first death and to their children or beneficiaries on second death.

A PPT has to be created whilst both partners are alive. The joint tenancy of the property is severed, meaning that Mr and Mrs will then own 50% of the property each, known as ‘Tenants in Common’.

Following this procedure, we will then create a new Will with the PPT incorporated, meaning that upon first death, instead of leaving the share of the property to the surviving spouse, their half will be held in trust for the beneficiaries (usually the children) of the Will.

Therefore if they go into care, the Local Authority can only means-test the other 50% of the property value. (However, just 50% of a house cannot be marketed and sold on the open market and there is a Palfry Ruling that in reality it actually has only nominal value).

The surviving spouse has a ‘life interest’ or ‘right of occupancy’ and can live in the property for life or substitute it for another one.

With average residential care fees often well in excess of £1200 per week, it does not take long to erode the value of your estate.

Currently, anyone with assets above £23,250 may not receive state help with Care Costs, meaning that many families would have to sell their home to fund Care.

If a PPT has been established, then half the value of the property is automatically protected on first death and the deceased’s share will not be used to fund Care cost for the survivor.

Yes. If the surviving partner remarries, the deceased’s part of the Will cannot be changed, thereby protecting the beneficiaries’ inheritance by preventing the deceased’s share passing to a new family, which is known as sideways disinheritance. Sideways disinheritance is explained in the diagram below.

A PPT is also very useful for couples who have children from different partners. A PPT will ensure each partner’s share passes to their child or named beneficiary whilst the surviving partner has the legal right to remain in the property for the rest of their life.

Probate

Administration and winding up of any Estate involves serious and often complex legal duties and responsibilities.

We help to process probate in an efficient but compassionate way at this upsetting time. We can help with the paperwork, arrange for valuations, help with property sales and transfers, and arrange tax advice before overseeing the distribution of the estate.

As an Executor, you can call on us to work alongside you in an advisory capacity and we will do all we can to ensure matters are processed efficiently and at a fair cost, typically half that of High Street Solicitors.

Will Storage

Many clients ask about safe and secure storage for their Wills, as they want to ensure they are not lost, discovered by the wrong people, damaged or tampered with in any way, which could make them invalid.

If your original Will cannot be produced then even if you have a copy, sadly it cannot be legally actioned and becomes inoperable.

We are pleased to offer safe storage and efficient retrieval facilities. Our storage fees are £40 per annum. We are happy to explain how this works during your consultation but should you have any questions, please ask for further information.

Feel free to download our storage guide here.

Free Initial Consultation and ongoing advice.

Call us on 0800 0622 146

Good service should never be rushed. We charge for products, not our time and advice.
Our priority is to serve you and ensure you are aware of the options available to protect your assets for generations to come.

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Other Services

Trusts

How does a PPT work?

How does a PPT help with care costs?

Are there any other benefits to a Trust?

Probate

Will Storage