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Trusts · 11 min read · Published

Protecting Your Home from Care Home Fees

How trusts, joint ownership and early planning can protect your home from care home fees, and the rules on giving assets away.

By Aaron Johnson, Consultant Solicitor and TEP, a solicitor in Bridlington who writes every guide himself.

A document folded in three and tied with a terracotta ribbon, one door key on a brown paper tag resting on it and a second identical key on its own tag lying a little apart on the desk.

Guides · Trusts · No. 9 of 12Published · 11 minutes

One of the questions Aaron is asked most often in Bridlington is: "Will the council take my house to pay for care?" It worries many families, and the cost of residential care in England keeps rising.

There are lawful steps you can take to protect your home. They need to be done properly and, ideally, well before care is needed. This guide explains the options plainly.

How Care Home Fees Work in England

When someone needs residential care in England, the local authority carries out a financial assessment (a "means test") to decide how much the person must pay towards their care.

The capital thresholds in England are:

  • Over £23,250 in capital: you pay the full cost of your care
  • Between £14,250 and £23,250: you contribute from your capital and the council pays the rest
  • Under £14,250: the council pays for your care, but you contribute from your income

When Your Home Is Not Counted

Your property is left out of the financial assessment if any of these people still live there:

  • Your spouse or civil partner
  • A partner, including an unmarried partner
  • A relative aged 60 or over
  • A relative who is disabled or incapacitated
  • A child under 18 for whom you are responsible

The local authority can also choose to disregard the property in other cases, for example where a carer who gave up their own home to look after you still lives there.

Legal Ways to Protect Your Home

Several lawful strategies can help protect your property. The right one depends on your circumstances, your family and when you start planning.

Protection Strategies Compared

Trust-Based ProtectionOther Approaches
A life interest trust protects your share of the propertyTenancy in common (not joint tenancy) lets each person own a defined share
It is set up in your will, not during your lifetime, for care fee purposesDeferred payment agreement: a council loan secured against your home
The surviving spouse can live in the property for lifeEquity release: access to the value without selling, but it reduces what you leave
The protected share passes to your children after both partners have diedRenting out the property to pay towards care
Works for couples who own property as tenants in commonDownsizing before care is needed to release capital

For many couples the most effective approach combines tenancy in common with a life interest trust:

How Life Interest Trust Protection Works

  1. Convert to tenants in commonChange the ownership so each partner owns a defined half share, rather than owning the whole property jointly. This is called "severing the joint tenancy".
  2. Write wills with life interest trustsEach partner's will leaves their half share in a trust for the children, but gives the surviving spouse the right to live in the property for life.
  3. First partner diesTheir half share passes into the trust. The surviving partner carries on living in the home as before.
  4. Surviving partner needs careOnly the surviving partner's half share counts in the means test. The other half is already in the trust for the children.

The Care Cost Cap

You may have heard of the government's proposed cap on care costs: a lifetime limit of £86,000 on what anyone would pay for their personal care. It was due to start in October 2025. In July 2024 the government announced it would not go ahead. There is no cap on care costs in England.

Even if a cap is introduced in future, it would only cover personal care costs, not accommodation and food, which make up a large part of care home fees. A cap alone would not protect your home.

Planning Ahead in Bridlington and East Yorkshire

Many of Aaron's clients in Bridlington come to him because they are worried about care fees. Property values vary widely across East Yorkshire, and the right advice matters.

Whether you own a modest terraced house or a larger family home, the principles are the same: plan early, take proper legal advice, and make sure your wills are structured correctly.

The best time to plan for care costs is when you do not need care. The second-best time is now.

Aaron Johnson, Safe Harbour Legal

Written by Aaron Johnson, Consultant Solicitor and TEP · Law of England and Wales as at 20 March 2026 · Ends

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

General answers for England and Wales. What applies to you depends on your circumstances.

Can the council force me to sell my house to pay for care?

The council cannot force you to sell your home. It can place a charge on the property (like a mortgage) and recover the costs when the property is sold, usually after the person in care has died. You can also apply for a deferred payment agreement, which works as a council loan secured on the property.

Can I give my house to my children to avoid care fees?

Simply giving your house to your children will not protect it if the local authority decides you did it to avoid care fees. This is "deliberate deprivation of assets", and the council can assess you as if you still own the property. Timing and your reasons are the key factors.

What is a life interest trust and how does it protect my home?

A life interest trust is set up in your will to protect your share of a jointly owned property. When you die, your share goes into the trust for your children, but your spouse has the legal right to live in the home for life. If the surviving spouse later needs care, only their own share of the property counts in the means test.

How much does it cost to set up a trust to protect your home?

Aaron charges a fixed fee for a will with a trust in it, and a separate fixed fee for a couple's wills with a trust in them. Severing the joint tenancy so that you own the property as tenants in common is a separate item. See the fees page for the full list. It is a fraction of what care fees can cost over even a few months.

Is it too late to protect my home if my partner is already in care?

If one partner is already in a care home, the options are more limited but not always gone. The partner who is well can still change their own will. You cannot backdate changes or alter property ownership to affect an assessment that is already under way. Speak to a solicitor as soon as possible.

Next step

Four ways to start. Take the one you are comfortable with.

Or call 01262 310 850. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.

  1. 01No commitment
    Find your plan and price

    Sixty seconds of questions that end on a named plan and a fixed fee, with VAT. No call needed.

  2. 02Low commitment
    Download a longer guide

    PDFs from Safe Harbour Legal to keep and read later. No email address needed.

  3. 03A conversation
    Book a 15-minute call

    15 minutes with Aaron, by phone or video, at no charge. Appointments are usually available within a few working days, including Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and home visits across East and North Yorkshire.

  4. 04Ready to go
    Start my matter

    Give Aaron the details he needs for a trust and he confirms the fixed fee in writing before any work starts.

Important

This guide contain general information about the law of England and Wales as at March 2026. It is not legal advice and should not be relied on in place of advice on your own circumstances. Trust, inheritance tax and care fees law change often; check any specific point before acting on it. Outcomes for any one person depend on their facts, the documents, and decisions taken by HMRC, the courts and others. Fees shown are fixed once agreed in writing, before any work starts. Safe Harbour Legal is a trading name of Legal Studio Solicitors (MDLS Solicitors Limited, company number 08599445), authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA 598793. The complaints procedure is at safeharbour.legal/complaints-procedure.