What is a Trust Will?

A trust will is a will that creates a trust to protect assets - usually your home - for your beneficiaries. Instead of leaving assets outright, they're held "in trust" with rules about how they can be used.

Why Use a Trust in Your Will?

A trust will can:

• Protect your home if your surviving spouse needs care
• Prevent "sideways disinheritance" if your spouse remarries
• Keep assets in the family bloodline
• Protect inheritance from divorce or bankruptcy
• Control when beneficiaries receive their inheritance

Common Types of Trust Wills

Property Protection Trust (PPT)

The most common type. Your share of the family home is held in trust rather than passing outright to your spouse.

How it works:

• When you die, your share of the home goes into the trust
• Your spouse can continue living there for life
• When they die, your share passes to your children
• Your share is protected if your spouse needs care or remarries

Life Interest Trust

Gives someone (usually your spouse) the right to benefit from assets during their lifetime, with the capital going to others (usually children) when they die.

How it works:

• Your spouse receives income from investments, or the right to live in the house
• They cannot spend the capital or sell the house
• When they die, the assets pass to your named beneficiaries

Discretionary Trust

Trustees have discretion over how to distribute assets to beneficiaries. Useful for:

• Beneficiaries who can't manage money well
• Protecting against future divorce or bankruptcy
• Special needs beneficiaries (to preserve benefits)

The "Sideways Disinheritance" Problem

This is the main reason people get trust wills. Here's the scenario:

1. You leave everything to your spouse (simple mirror will)
2. You die
3. Your spouse now owns 100% of everything
4. Your spouse remarries
5. Your spouse makes a new will leaving everything to their new spouse
6. When your spouse dies, your children get nothing

A trust will prevents this by ring-fencing your share for your children.

Trust Wills and Care Fees

Many people get trust wills hoping to protect their home from care fees. However, this is complicated:

What a Trust Will CAN Do

• Protect the deceased spouse's share of the home
• If the husband dies first and his share is in trust, it may be protected when the wife later needs care

What a Trust Will CANNOT Do

• Protect the surviving spouse's own share
• Guarantee protection - local authorities can sometimes challenge arrangements
• Protect assets if you need care first before your spouse dies

The rule: If you transfer assets to avoid paying for care (deliberate deprivation), the local authority can treat you as still owning them.

How Much Does a Trust Will Cost?

Type	Typical Cost
Simple will (no trust)	£99 - £200
Single trust will	£299 - £450
Mirror trust wills (couple)	£450 - £700

Tenants in Common - Essential for Trust Wills

For a property protection trust to work, you must own your home as "tenants in common" not "joint tenants."

Joint Tenants

When one owner dies, the property automatically passes to the survivor. Your will has no effect on it.

Tenants in Common

Each owner has a defined share (usually 50/50). When you die, your share passes through your will - and can go into a trust.

If you're joint tenants, you'll need to "sever the tenancy" to become tenants in common. This is a simple process called tenancy severance.

Do You Need a Trust Will?

You Should Consider a Trust Will If:

• You own property and want to protect it for children
• You're concerned about your spouse remarrying
• You have children from a previous relationship
• You want some protection against future care costs
• You have beneficiaries who need protection (spendthrift, vulnerable)

You Probably Don't Need One If:

• You're single with no dependants
• You have no property
• You're happy for your spouse to have complete control
• Your estate is small

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my spouse be forced to sell the house?

With a properly drafted trust, your spouse has the right to live in the property for life. However, the trustees (often your children) have some responsibilities too.

What happens if my spouse needs to downsize?

The trust should include provisions allowing the property to be sold and a smaller one purchased, with your share remaining protected.

Does a trust will avoid inheritance tax?

Not automatically. Trust wills primarily protect assets from remarriage and care fees, not from IHT. Some trusts have IHT implications - take professional advice.

Who manages the trust?

Trustees manage it. Often this is your spouse plus your adult children. You can also appoint professional trustees.