A Home Protection Will Trust takes care of partners and children

27/08/2019
Author: Louise Rance

If you’re one of an increasing number of people remarrying, leaving assets to your children could be problematic without making preparations to future proof your will.

Many couples who remarry sell their existing properties to buy a new home together. Without an up to date will expressing that in the event of your death, your share of your home goes to your children, ownership of the property will transfer to your spouse. Upon on your spouse’s death, the entire joint estate could then be left to their children, ruling out any inheritance being passed to yours.

If you want to protect your partner, as well as ensuring your children benefit from the value of your property, a Home Protection Will Trust could be the answer. This effectively protects your share of the property, whilst allowing your partner to remain in the marital home for as long as they choose after your death.

To put this in place, the first step is to set up mirror wills stating that in the event of your death, a half share of the marital home goes to your children.

Then, registering you and you partner as ‘Tenants in Common’ with the Land Registry splits ownership of your property in to two so that you both own an equal 50% share. If one of you has put in more money than the other, the share in the house could be split could be 60/40 for example; it’s whatever agreement you both come that gets recorded in the will. Doing this enables both of you to control the ultimate destination of your share of the home in your respective wills.

If you die first, your 50% share in the property will pass in to a Will Trust. Under the terms of the Trust, your spouse would be able to live in the property, and enjoy the full benefits of it, for the rest of their life. On the death of your partner, 50% of the value of the property will then pass to their children while the other 50% would pass to your children.

The arrangements you put in place in the Wills Trust still stand even if your partner were to marry again in the future. Also, if your spouse needs to go in to care after your death, only their 50% share in the property could be taken in to account for funding care fees.

If you’re remarrying and want to ensure your children benefit from your estate and your partner is taken care of, talk to us. We’ll be able to help you outline exactly what you need to set out in your Home Protection Will Trust so that no one loses out.