Protect your property for future generations
Put your house in a Lifetime Trust from a Bristol-based Will Writing service
Without a Trust, your family’s inheritance is at risk
If you have a simple Will, or no Will, your loved ones will inherit outright. But this can cause problems such as:
Child gets divorced and loses half their inheritance
House can’t be sold due to lengthy probate delays
Your house is sold to pay for long-term care fees
Children living abroad could pay extra tax
Your partner remarries, disinheriting children
More inheritance tax to pay for future generations
Get maximum protection with a Lifetime Trust
- Avoids probate and ensures your house can be sold straight away.
- Flexible to adapt to changing circumstances.
- Protects the asset from threats in your lifetime.
For more information, download free factsheets on Lifetime Trusts, Wills, Lasting Power of Attorney, inheritance tax and other aspects of estate planning.
The easy way to get a Lifetime Trust in Bristol
FREE APPOINTMENT
The first meeting is a free-of-charge discussion about your aims and circumstances.
quick and easy
It takes a couple of hours to capture all the details we need to set up your Asset Protection Trust.
no hidden costs
We’ll tell you the total cost of the Asset Protection Trust up front, before you commit to anything.
Trust terms explained
What is a Lifetime Trust?
A Trust that you get up and running now, i.e., during your lifetime. It is different to a Trust in a Will, which is only active after your death.
What is an Asset Protection Trust?
This is a product name for a Lifetime Trust that can hold assets, most commonly your house but can include money as well.
Three steps to setting up a Lifetime Trust
1
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
Pick a time and date to suit your diary.
2
DISCUSS YOUR NEEDS
Tell us your aims and circumstances.
3
SIGN YOUR TRUST
It’s legal once signed and witnessed.
Let me simplify Lifetime Trusts for you
I know that Lifetime Trusts can be confusing.
You might have been thinking about getting a simple Will. But you’ve read about Trusts and now you have more questions than answers.
That’s why I’ll start with a chat about your aims to find out if a Lifetime Trust is right for you. You can always get a simple Will if you prefer (or do nothing at all).
If you are interested, it’s best to do it sooner rather than later. Just as it’s too late to buy an insurance policy if your house is on fire, you can’t get maximum protection from a Trust if you leave it too late.
As a member of the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW), I receive regular training so I’ll be able to give you up-to-date advice.
Graham Southorn, MIPW
Bristol Wills & Estate Planning is proud to be a member of:
Google reviews from people we’ve helped
Great service and everything was made very quick and easy.
Sarah
Excellent service and an efficient and easy process.
Tom
Graham made the whole process simple and straightforward while being ultra helpful and informative.
Steve
Prudent estate planning involves more than Trusts
Lasting Power of Attorney
Help your loved ones to take care of you.
Inheritance Tax planning
Avoid inheritance tax by planning ahead.
Wills
Help your family by making your wishes clear.
How Lifetime Trusts work
Trusts can seem complicated but the basic idea is simple.
Instead of giving an asset directly to another person, as you would in a Will, an Asset Protection Trust allows you to give it to trustees to manage.
This happens during your lifetime.
The Trustees you appoint must make joint decisions, which is where the protection comes in. That’s why the trustees need to be able to work together.
Typically, people choose family members and friends to be their trustees. Often, it’s possible for you to be a trustee of your own Asset Protection Trust.
For added peace of mind, you can appoint a professional trustee. This person can offer an impartial, independent perspective if there are likely to be family tensions.
But why go to all this bother? Why not just give your house to your children and still carry on living in it?
Many people think that giving their house to children is a way to avoid inheritance tax and care fees. But it isn’t because:
- To avoid inheritance tax you would have to pay your children a market rent, reviewable every year. Otherwise, HMRC will say that your estate is still liable for inheritance tax.
- A local council is likely to see the gift as “deliberate deprivation” when it comes to assessing the value of your assets for care fees.
It is also a very bad idea because:
- You could fall out with your children. They now own the house and could make your life difficult.
- Your children could die before you. Their spouse or children could inherit the house and want to sell.
A Lifetime Trust avoids these problems.
In addition, the house does not have to pass through probate when you die.
This avoids lengthy delays in the probate process and means that a house can be sold straight away. All it needs is the trustees’ signatures.
Martin Lewis on Will writing, Powers of Attorney and Inheritance Tax
Catch up with the Martin Lewis Money Show Live covering difficult conversations around divorce, death and dementia.
You can stream it on ITVX and read my transcript and review of the show here.
Don’t put it off!