Protecting your children’s inheritance
Care Home Fees
A large proportion of people over 65 may require some form of care either in a residential care home or in their own home. If a person goes into long term care the Local Authoirty can seize all but £22,500 of your assets as a contribution towards the cost of that care. Many people living on their own face the risk of losing their own home. As many as 69,000 homes are seized every year to fund care home fees.
Second marriage situations
Upon the death of a spouse the surviving spouse may remarry or cohabit and even have other children. With many marriages failing it is increasing common for couples to each have children of their own from previous marriages or relationships. How do you go about ensuring the security of your spouse/partner in the event of your death whilst ensuring that only your children ultimately benefit from your estate?
What can be done?
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Protective Property Trusts
The problems outlined above can largely be prevented by making arrangements within your Wills whilst both owners are still alive in order to ensure that half of the property is protected.
By owning your property as tenants in common in equal shares you can each leave your half share of the property in your wills, not to one another but to your children whilst specifying that the surviving spouse/partner has a life-time right to occupy the property to ensure that they can still live there.
The trust can be drafted in a manner to allow the surving spouse/partner to ‘downsize’ and release some of the capital in the property in order that they receive some income and still own half of their new home.
This ensures that your children will receive at least one half of the property, and possibly all, whilst still providing a home for the survivng spouse or civil partner.
Call 0800 9878156 to speak to a solicitor or send us a message for further information.
Solicitors in Braintree, Witham, Maldon, Colchester, Wickford, Burnham-on-Crouch and Chelmsford
