Protect your home and assets for your children while ensuring your surviving spouse or partner is provided for. Expert life interest trust wills from specialist solicitors in Chester, Cheshire and North Wales.
A life interest trust is created in your will and comes into effect when you die. Here is how it works in practice.
Your will creates a life interest trust over your share of the family home (and/or other assets) on your death.
Your share of the property passes into the trust. Your surviving spouse or partner becomes the "life tenant" — they have the right to live in the property.
The life tenant can live in the property for the rest of their life. They may also receive income from trust assets. They cannot sell or give away the trust assets.
When the life tenant dies, the trust ends. The trust assets pass to the "remaindermen" — typically your children — as specified in your will.
Life interest trusts offer powerful protection for families — particularly those with blended families, property, or care fee concerns.
Ensure your share of the family home passes to your children, not to a future spouse or partner of your surviving spouse.
Assets held in a life interest trust are generally outside the estate for care fee assessment purposes, protecting them for future generations.
Your surviving spouse or partner retains the right to live in the property and benefit from the trust assets for the rest of their life.
Ideal for second marriages and blended families — ensuring children from a first relationship are protected while still providing for a current partner.
Life interest trusts can form part of a wider inheritance tax planning strategy, particularly in conjunction with nil rate band trusts.
The terms of a life interest trust can be tailored to your circumstances — including what happens to income, capital, and the property itself.
Second marriages or relationships where you want to protect children from a first relationship.
Couples who own property together and want to protect their share for their children.
Partners who are not married or in a civil partnership and want to provide for each other.
Anyone concerned about the impact of future care costs on the family estate.
Those with estates approaching or exceeding the nil rate band threshold.
Business owners who want to ensure business assets pass to the right people.
Our specialist wills and trusts solicitors will advise you on whether a life interest trust is right for your circumstances, explain the costs clearly, and draft a will that protects your family.
A life interest trust (also called a life interest will trust or protective property trust) is a type of trust created in a will. It gives a named person — usually a surviving spouse or partner — the right to benefit from certain assets (typically the family home) for the rest of their life. When that person dies, the assets pass to the ultimate beneficiaries, such as your children.
These terms are often used interchangeably. A protective property trust is a type of life interest trust specifically designed to protect a share of the family home. A life interest trust is the broader concept — it can apply to any assets, not just property. Both achieve the same core objective: providing for a surviving spouse while protecting assets for children.
Assets held in a properly structured life interest trust are generally outside the estate for care fee assessment purposes. This means that if the surviving spouse needs residential care, the trust assets should not be taken into account when assessing their ability to pay. However, the rules are complex and local authority assessments can be challenged — always take specialist advice.
The life tenant cannot sell the property without the consent of the trustees (who are often the children). If the property is sold, the proceeds are held in trust and can be used to purchase a replacement property or invested to provide income for the life tenant. The life tenant does not receive the capital.
Yes — life interest trusts are particularly useful for unmarried couples, who do not benefit from the automatic inheritance rights of married couples. A life interest trust can ensure your partner is provided for while protecting your share of the property for your children or other beneficiaries.
The cost of a life interest trust will depends on the complexity of your estate and the terms of the trust. We provide a clear, fixed-fee quote before any work begins. As a guide, a pair of mirror wills with life interest trusts typically costs more than straightforward wills but significantly less than the potential care fee savings. Contact us for a personalised quote.
Speak to a specialist wills and trusts solicitor today. We'll explain your options clearly and provide a fixed fee quote.
No obligation. Chester, Cheshire & North Wales.
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