A Property Trust (also known as a Protective Property Trust) is designed to protect your share of jointly-owned property from being lost to care home fees, creditors, or unintended beneficiaries. It’s one of the most effective ways to ensure your property passes to the people you choose — typically your children — rather than being swallowed up by circumstances beyond your control.

Why Consider a Property Trust?

For most families, the family home is their most valuable asset. Without proper protection, your share could be used to pay for long-term care, lost in a beneficiary’s divorce or bankruptcy, or inherited by someone you never intended. A Property Trust ring-fences your portion of the property, keeping it safe for your chosen beneficiaries while allowing your partner to continue living there for life.

A Property Trust protects against:

• Care home fees depleting your estate
• Your share passing to a surviving partner’s new spouse or family
• Creditors making claims against your beneficiaries
• Vulnerable beneficiaries losing their inheritance through poor financial decisions

How Does a Property Trust Work?

Property Trusts are typically set up within your will and activate upon your death:

Your share is protected. Instead of passing outright to your surviving partner, your share of the property is held in trust for your chosen beneficiaries (usually your children).

Your partner can remain. They have the right to live in the property for the rest of their life, ensuring they’re never forced to move or lose their home.

Your beneficiaries inherit. When your partner passes away or no longer needs the property, your share passes to your children or chosen beneficiaries — protected and intact.

This structure ensures your wishes are respected while providing security for your partner and preserving your legacy for the next generation.

Who Should Consider a Property Trust?

Property Trusts are particularly valuable if you:

• Own property jointly with a spouse or partner
• Have children from a previous relationship
• Are concerned about care home costs
• Want to ensure your share goes to your children, not stepchildren or in-laws
• Have beneficiaries who may be vulnerable to financial pressure or claims

We’ll assess your circumstances and explain whether a Property Trust is the right solution for your family.

Our Tailored Approach

1. Free Consultation
We’ll discuss your property ownership, family situation, and concerns to determine if a Property Trust suits your needs.

2. Trust Drafting
Your Property Trust is carefully drafted within your will, with full explanations of how it works and what it achieves.

3. Severance of Tenancy
If required, we’ll also arrange to convert your joint tenancy to tenants in common — a necessary legal step for Property Trusts to work.