Can I protect my home?

If you own your property jointly with your spouse or partner, you may be able to protect at least half of it after one of you dies, from outside influences such as future relationships and long term care.

The first step is to find out how you own it, either as Joint tenants, or Tenants in common.  This would typically have been decided when you purchased the property. 

If you are joint tenants the survivor will inherit the whole property on death automatically.  That would seem to make sense, except having the property in the survivor's sole name leaves the entire property exposed to pay for their long term care in the future and also leaves the property open to possible sideways inheritance into the family of any future partner or spouse of the survivor.

Tenants in common enables you to separate and protect your individual shares in the house on first death via your wills, using a property protection trust (PPT).  

It's a relatively straightforward change to make, one that could make a huge difference to your family's future.  For more details please contact us to check your property ownership for free.