Trusts · A guide by Aaron Johnson, TEP
Provide for your spouse. Protect the inheritance.
A basic will leaves everything to your spouse outright. What happens to it after that is out of your hands: care fees, a second marriage, a family dispute. A flexible life interest will trust is one way to support your spouse for life. It also lets you decide, now, who inherits in the end. This guide explains how it works, who it suits, where it cannot help, and what it costs. Some firms sell the same thing as a family protection trust or a property protection trust.
Reviewed September 2026. Reflects the law of England and Wales as at that date.
Guide · Life interest will trustReviewed
Chapter
01
What a life interest will trust is.
A trust written into your will. It starts on the day you die. It holds what you chose to put in it for your spouse's lifetime. Then the trust passes it to the people you named.
Under the law of England and Wales you have testamentary freedom. That is the right to decide who inherits what you own. A will trust is one way of making that decision hold after you die, whatever happens next.
A flexible life interest will trust is a trust set up inside your will. It comes into existence the moment you die. The assets you chose pass into the trust, not outright to your spouse or partner. That is commonly your share of the family home, and sometimes savings or investments too.
Your surviving spouse becomes the life tenant. They have the right to live in the property for the rest of their life. They also receive any income the trust assets produce. The trustees hold the legal title; your spouse has the use of the home and the income.
The flexible part is the trustees’ power to advance capital, which means paying out some of the trust’s money. They can do so where your will says they may. The trust can then respond to a sale, a move somewhere smaller or a real need for money. None of these ends the protection.
When the life tenant dies, the trust ends. The assets pass to the remaindermen: the beneficiaries you named in your will. Often your children; sometimes grandchildren or one branch of the family. The choice is yours.
Also called a family protection trust
You may have seen this trust sold under other names. Family protection trust and property protection trust usually describe the same thing. So do property trust will, home protection trust and asset protection trust. Each is a life interest trust in a will. It holds the first to die’s share of the home for the survivor. The names are marketing. The law behind them is the one on this page.
Two cautions come with those names. Some firms sell a lifetime version, where you give your home to a trust now rather than on death. That is a different arrangement with different risks. They include the deliberate deprivation rules on care fees and the loss of control over your own home. And the word protection promises more than any trust can deliver. A will trust fixes who inherits your share. It keeps that share out of your spouse’s later will, a remarriage or their financial trouble. What it cannot do is guarantee an outcome on care fees, which chapter four explains.
Have you been quoted for a family protection trust? The fee in chapter five is the like for like comparison. The family protection trust guide sets out both versions and the questions to ask before you sign anything.
Chapter
02
How it works, in order.
Five moments, from the day you sign to the day the trust ends.
You make the will
Aaron drafts a will containing the trust. You choose what goes into it, who the trustees are, and who inherits at the end.
You die. The trust begins.
The assets you chose pass into the trust, not outright to your spouse. Your spouse’s own assets are untouched.
Your spouse lives in the home
As the life tenant, your spouse has the right to live there for life. They also receive any income the trust produces. Nothing about day-to-day life changes.
Life changes. The trustees can act.
Life can bring a sale, a move somewhere smaller or a real need for money. Where your will allows it, the trustees can sell, buy a replacement home or advance capital.
Your spouse dies. The trust ends.
What is left passes to the people you named. In general it never belonged to your spouse. In general, their later will, a remarriage or their creditors do not affect it.
None of this is automatic. Care-fee assessments turn on the facts, anti-avoidance rules exist, and the right structure depends on your circumstances. That is why chapter four is about where these trusts cannot help.
Chapter
03
Five situations where it helps.
A will trust is one of several tools. Whether it is the right one depends on your family, your assets and what you want to achieve.
A blended family: children from a previous relationship
You want your spouse provided for. You also want certainty that your share reaches your children in the end, not your spouse’s new family.
Concern about what could happen to your surviving spouse
Care needs, remarriage, vulnerability to pressure from others. A will trust can be structured to support them for life and keep the assets out of those risks.
Significant equity in property, or in savings
The house is not the limit. Savings and investments can sit in the same trust, with the same protection.
If your spouse later faces financial trouble
Bankruptcy, creditors, a court judgment, a business that went badly. The assets are not your spouse’s own, so in general they cannot be taken to meet claims against them.
You want your wishes honoured properly
You decide who inherits. A will trust helps make sure that decision holds, even where life moves on. Remarriage, a dispute or a change in the tax rules need not undo it.
Chapter
04
Where it will not help.
A trust is a tool, not a guarantee. Outcomes depend on your circumstances, what is in the will and how the assets are owned. They also depend on later decisions by the local authority, HMRC and the courts.
As a substitute for lifetime gifting, where that is what you need
A will trust takes effect on death. It is planning for after you die, not during your life. The deliberate deprivation rules apply to lifetime transfers, not to a will trust. Your situation may call for lifetime steps: gifts, a lifetime trust, business reliefs. That is a separate conversation, and Aaron will say so.
If you are single, divorced or widowed
A life interest trust needs a surviving life tenant, usually a spouse or civil partner. Without a partner, a discretionary will trust or a carefully drafted simple will is almost always the better fit.
Where your spouse needs full control of the home
The trustees hold the legal title. Your spouse cannot sell on their own and keep the proceeds. For many couples that is the point; for others it is a restriction they do not want. Discuss it before the will is drafted.
For estates well below the tax and care-fee thresholds
If neither inheritance tax nor later care fees are realistic concerns, a pair of mirror wills often does the same job with less complexity, at £550 + VAT for a couple. Aaron will be straight about that on the call.
As a substitute for advice on your own circumstances
Nothing on this page is legal advice. The right structure depends on your family, your assets and your wishes. Speak to a regulated solicitor before instructing anyone.
Chapter
05
What it costs.
A fixed fee, agreed in writing before any work starts. Never by the hour.
- Trust wills for a couple
Two wills, each containing a flexible life interest will trust, drafted personally by Aaron.
Instructions from both of you, two wills incorporating a life interest or protective trust that ring-fences the first to die's share, letters of wishes, supervised signing and a trustee briefing. Typically 3 to 4 weeks.
Severing a joint tenancy is a separate small item; declarations of trust, capacity assessments and foreign assets are separate.
£950+ VAT(£1,140 inc. VAT) - Trust will for one person
One will with the trust inside it.
Instructions, a will incorporating the right trust for your situation, a letter of wishes, supervised signing and a trustee briefing. Typically 3 to 4 weeks.
Severing a joint tenancy, Land Registry restrictions, declarations of trust, capacity assessments and foreign assets are separate.
£650+ VAT(£780 inc. VAT) - Severing the joint tenancy (splitting the home into two shares)
For a couple who own the home in joint names, alongside the wills, so each of you owns a distinct share for the trust to hold.
Notice of severance so each of you owns a distinct share, and the Land Registry form that records it. No Land Registry fee. Alongside the wills.
£150+ VAT(£180 inc. VAT)
Where the estate is above the inheritance tax allowances, Aaron adds the inheritance tax check and will structure, once per plan: £450+ VAT(£540 inc. VAT). Aaron maps your inheritance tax position (the nil-rate band, the residence allowance and, for a married couple, what transfers between you), structures the wills to use the allowances, and explains the result in writing.
Third-party costs, paid at cost, not Aaron’s fee
- Land Registry official copies, per document, HM Land Registry, no VAT£7
Regulated work (trust wills, probate, trust and estate administration) carries a small onboarding fee for the matter and an identity check for each person. Standard wills and powers of attorney do not. It is confirmed before any work starts.
Unusual provisions, several trustees or a wider set of assets can change the figure. Whatever it is, it is in writing before any work starts. Full schedule on the fees page.
Written by Aaron Johnson, Consultant Solicitor and TEP · Law of England and Wales as at September 2026 · Ends
Chapter
06
The guide, and the questions people ask.
Plain English, a worked example, and clear about the limits. Written for the person at the kitchen table, not for other solicitors.
In the guide
- How a flexible life interest will trust works
- A worked example: a blended family, a home and savings, two sets of children
- Five reasons families set one up: care fees, remarriage, a beneficiary’s bankruptcy, family disputes, certainty for a blended family
- How it compares with a discretionary will trust, and when to choose which
- Where it cannot help, and the anti-avoidance rules around care-fee planning
- Five questions to ask any solicitor before instructing one
- What it costs at Safe Harbour Legal
- The Life Interest Will Trust guide
Provide for your spouse, protect the inheritance. How it works, who it suits, what it costs.
PDF · 14 pages - Estate planning checklist
One page. The documents and decisions to have in place.
PDF · 1 page - The estate planning guide
Wills, powers of attorney, trusts and probate, in one place.
PDF · 29 pages
Questions? Call 01262 310 850. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.
Common questions
The six questions asked most.
Every answer is general information. Aaron applies it to your facts on the call.
What is a flexible life interest will trust?
A trust set up inside your will. When you die, the assets you chose pass into the trust, not outright to your spouse or partner. That is commonly your share of the family home, and sometimes savings or investments too. Your spouse, the life tenant, has the right to live in the property for the rest of their life. They also receive any income from the trust. The flexible part is the trustees’ power to advance capital where your will says they may. That lets the trust respond to changed circumstances. When the life tenant dies, the trust ends and the assets pass to the beneficiaries you chose.
What is a flexible life interest will trust?
A trust set up inside your will. When you die, the assets you chose pass into the trust, not outright to your spouse or partner. That is commonly your share of the family home, and sometimes savings or investments too. Your spouse, the life tenant, has the right to live in the property for the rest of their life. They also receive any income from the trust. The flexible part is the trustees’ power to advance capital where your will says they may. That lets the trust respond to changed circumstances. When the life tenant dies, the trust ends and the assets pass to the beneficiaries you chose.
Does it cover savings, or only the family home?
Both, if you want it to. The home is the most common asset, because it is usually the family’s largest. The same trust can also hold savings and investments. What goes in depends on how the will is drafted. Aaron works through the right scope on the call.
Does it cover savings, or only the family home?
Both, if you want it to. The home is the most common asset, because it is usually the family’s largest. The same trust can also hold savings and investments. What goes in depends on how the will is drafted. Aaron works through the right scope on the call.
How does it fit into care-fee planning?
A will trust is one part of later-life planning, not a care-fee tactic on its own. Your will creates the trust on your death, so its assets never belong to your surviving spouse. A local authority may later means-test your spouse for care funding. If it does, in general those assets are not theirs to be assessed. That is different from lifetime gifts or lifetime trusts, which fall under the deliberate deprivation rules. Under those rules a council can treat assets you gave away as if you still had them. For most clients a will trust sits alongside up-to-date wills and lasting powers of attorney.
How does it fit into care-fee planning?
A will trust is one part of later-life planning, not a care-fee tactic on its own. Your will creates the trust on your death, so its assets never belong to your surviving spouse. A local authority may later means-test your spouse for care funding. If it does, in general those assets are not theirs to be assessed. That is different from lifetime gifts or lifetime trusts, which fall under the deliberate deprivation rules. Under those rules a council can treat assets you gave away as if you still had them. For most clients a will trust sits alongside up-to-date wills and lasting powers of attorney.
What if my surviving spouse needs to sell or downsize?
The trustees can sell the property and buy a replacement home for your spouse. Alternatively, they can invest the proceeds so your spouse keeps the income or the use of them. Your spouse is never locked in, and never without a home. The trust fixes who inherits in the end; it does not restrict your spouse’s daily life.
What if my surviving spouse needs to sell or downsize?
The trustees can sell the property and buy a replacement home for your spouse. Alternatively, they can invest the proceeds so your spouse keeps the income or the use of them. Your spouse is never locked in, and never without a home. The trust fixes who inherits in the end; it does not restrict your spouse’s daily life.
What if my spouse remarries, or a beneficiary’s circumstances change?
These are two of the situations the trust is designed for. Marriage revokes an existing will, unless the will was made in expectation of that marriage. Without a trust, your share could pass to a new spouse or a new family, not your children. With a will trust, your share is held for your named beneficiaries from the day you die. What happens to your spouse afterwards does not change that. The same protection applies if a beneficiary is bankrupt, divorcing or in difficulty when your spouse later dies. The trustees can hold the share until the time is right.
What if my spouse remarries, or a beneficiary’s circumstances change?
These are two of the situations the trust is designed for. Marriage revokes an existing will, unless the will was made in expectation of that marriage. Without a trust, your share could pass to a new spouse or a new family, not your children. With a will trust, your share is held for your named beneficiaries from the day you die. What happens to your spouse afterwards does not change that. The same protection applies if a beneficiary is bankrupt, divorcing or in difficulty when your spouse later dies. The trustees can hold the share until the time is right.
How much does it cost to set up?
Aaron draws up wills containing a flexible life interest will trust at a fixed fee: £950 + VAT for a couple, £650 + VAT for one person. Where a couple own the home in joint names, severing the joint tenancy and the Land Registry restriction that makes the trust work is a separate small item at £150 + VAT. Where the estate is above the inheritance tax allowances, the inheritance tax check and will structure is added, at £450 + VAT. Unusual provisions for a particular beneficiary, several trustees or a wider set of assets can change that, but every fee is agreed in writing before any work starts. The 15-minute call ends with a written quote if you want to go ahead.
How much does it cost to set up?
Aaron draws up wills containing a flexible life interest will trust at a fixed fee: £950 + VAT for a couple, £650 + VAT for one person. Where a couple own the home in joint names, severing the joint tenancy and the Land Registry restriction that makes the trust work is a separate small item at £150 + VAT. Where the estate is above the inheritance tax allowances, the inheritance tax check and will structure is added, at £450 + VAT. Unusual provisions for a particular beneficiary, several trustees or a wider set of assets can change that, but every fee is agreed in writing before any work starts. The 15-minute call ends with a written quote if you want to go ahead.
Next step
Ready when you are.
Sixty seconds of questions that end on the right will for you and a fixed fee, with VAT.
Or call 01262 310 850, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.
Appointments are usually available within a few working days, including Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and home visits across East and North Yorkshire.
Important
This page and the PDF guide contain general information about the law of England and Wales as at September 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-fee assessment 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 and Legal Studio Solicitors are trading names of MDLS Solicitors Limited (company number 08599445), authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA 598793. The complaints procedure is at legalstudio.co.uk/sra-complaints (Legal Studio's website).