Estate planning
Asset protection
It's a common goal to want to protect your assets for the benefit of loved ones. In drafting a will, you plan to ensure that the assets that you have worked hard for are passed on in the way you wish. However, a will can only dispose of the assets that you own at the date of your death and if the value of these assets are eroded, there will be little to inherit.
Lifetime Asset Trusts (Trust) are specifically designed to protect your assets for you during your lifetime and give you the peace of mind that they can be passed on securely and intact to your beneficiaries, after your death.
Once the Trust has been created, you can use it to ‘ring-fence’ your assets. Most people will protect their home and their savings, leaving capital in their bank or other savings accounts for ongoing living expenses. Income from savings protected within the Trust can be paid directly into your bank account to supplement income from earnings or pensions.
As well as protecting your assets, this is also an important area to consider should you lose mental capacity or have to go into a care home. If you have gone into care and have lost mental capacity, your Trustees will need to make decisions for you. For example, if your property is sold, the proceeds will continue to be protected within the Trust and can be invested and you will normally receive the interest or income earned on the invested capital.
Another significant benefit that assets in the Trust will not be subject to probate on death. This means that, apart from the significant cost savings, the home can be sold or transferred by the Trustees immediately after death with no probate formalities. While the administration of an estate can often take a year or more and cost thousands of pounds, this can be avoided with the Trust and the assets protected by it can be distributed to your beneficiaries in a matter of days if desired.
Contact us today to see how we can help you.
Important information
Please note: if assets are given away or placed in trust mainly to avoid paying for care, the local authority can treat them as if you still owned them ("deliberate deprivation of assets"). Planning needs to be done for genuine reasons and well in advance, which is why we always give advice based on your own circumstances.
Talk to our team
Book your free first meeting
No obligation. We can meet you at our St Albans office or at your home.
Related services
You may also be interested in
Wills
Make sure your estate goes to the people you choose, and name guardians for young children.
Find out more
Lasting power of attorney
Choose who can make decisions for you if you ever lose the capacity to make them yourself.
Find out more
Trusts
Protect family assets, provide for children and blended families, and guard against sideways disinheritance.
Find out more
Fixed-cost probate
Experienced, impartial help to administer an estate, at a fixed percentage fee.
Find out more
Inheritance tax planning
Understand your inheritance tax position and the legitimate ways to reduce it.
Find out more
Our sister company
Financial advice from Omni Financial
Worried about care costs? Omni Financial can explain the options for funding care and protecting what you leave.
Q&A
Questions & answers
What is asset protection?
Planning, often using trusts, so that the assets you have worked for are passed on securely and in the way you intend.
Can I give my home away to avoid care fees?
Not simply to avoid care fees. A local authority can treat assets given away for that reason as if you still owned them. Any planning has to be done for genuine reasons, so we always advise on your own situation.
Do assets in a trust need probate?
Assets held in a lifetime trust do not form part of your estate for probate, so trustees can usually deal with them without waiting for a grant.
Your first meeting is free
Talk to our estate planning team in St Albans. Call 01727 220053 or send us a message.