What are Property Trust Wills?
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Insurance & Legal
You might know what a Will is, but did you know about the various kinds of wills available to you? We take a look at the Property Trust Will and help you figure out whether this is the right kind of Will for you.
What is a Will?
A will is an important legal document—possibly the most important many of us will ever sign—but your Will might not be everything you imagined.
A standard “Mirror” or “Joint” Will may appear to keep things nice and simple, but they also fail to protect what you’ve spent a lifetime building. These basic Wills often create a situation where the survivor of a couple is left owning everything, and thus has everything to lose in their later years if they need to move into a care home, for example.
How does a Property Trust Will work?
A Property Trust Will is often suitable for co-owners of a property (often husband and wife, or unmarried couples), and is used to ring-fence half the family home on the first death in a couple.
A Property Trust Will protects half the home for the next generation from the threats of care fees and the effect of remarriage, both of which frequently see an inheritance pass somewhere it wasn’t intended to go.
When setting up a Property Trust Will, the legal title to the property is changed from joint tenants to what is known as tenants in common—nothing to do with renting, but an important change at the Land Registry that allows each co-owner to decide where their half share of the property passes on their death.
This type of Will gives the surviving co-owner the use of the half of the house in trust for the entirety of their lifetime, ensuring they can continue to live in the property as if they owned it, and they could even move house if they wished. Because half the house is in trust, it can’t be used to fund care fees, and can’t pass sideways to a new husband or wife—it’s protected for the next generation.
Could it be right for me?
There is no “one size fits all” solution to your legal planning. It’s essential that the right solution is created for your personal situation, and specialist advice is essential.
A starting point is the review of your existing planning, circumstances and objectives. As a reader of Reader’s Digest, you have exclusive access to the services of Reader’s Digest Legal, and can arrange for a professional Estate Planning Practitioner to visit your home without charge or obligation.
A free one-hour consultation in the comfort and privacy of your own home will allow you to learn what steps you could take to upgrade your planning.
Take the first step and find out more about Reader’s Digest Legal and Property Trust Wills by requesting your free information pack today. Call 0800 031 9516 and quote reference RDL12.
