Property Protection Will Trust

Keeping your family home in the family

A Property Protection Trust can be created when a property is jointly owned. One of our experts can visit you in the comfort of your own home at your earliest convenience to recommend the products that will provide the correct protection for you, your family and your assets.

What is a Property Protection Will Trust?

• It is an enhanced Will that offers some protection for the property by ensuring that on the death of the first joint owner, their share is protected from interference by third parties.
• It’s designed to enable joint owners to be more flexible with their share of the property enabling them to pass it to someone other than the joint owner.
• If the current joint owner remarries or decides to gift their share to someone, then your share is fully protected for your beneficiaries.
• This means that if the surviving owner gets into financial difficulties, then the first share of the property is protected and will not be assessed or at risk.

What does it mean for the surviving partner?

• The surviving owner has the right to live in the property for the rest of their life.  They cannot be evicted by the trustees (your chosen people who manage the Trust).
• The surviving owner can sell the house if they wish to and buy another, but any profit will be split equally between them and the trustees.
• The surviving owner usually controls the Trust with at least one other person, typically another family member.
• A Protective Will Property Trust is only effective if the tenancy of the property is severed – please see our section about Severance of Tenancy.

What if I gift my house to my children?

It might seem more straightforward. However, you are vulnerable should any of your children become bankrupt, get divorced or die during your lifetime. If any of these events occurred, a sale of the property could be forced to make the child’s share of the property available to his/her Creditors, the Court or his/her Executors. You may also simply fall out with your children, and they could request that the property be sold in order for them to receive their share of the cash proceeds of sale.

What if I change my mind?

Since the Trust does not come into existence until the first spouse dies, you can simply change your Will(s) before this time.