Property Protection Trust Wills: Protect Your Share of the Family Home

A property protection trust will ringfences your share of a property so it passes to your chosen beneficiaries rather than being lost to care fees, a new relationship, or family disputes. A named person can continue living in the property during their lifetime while your share stays protected. Our solicitors draft property protection trust wills for individuals and families across the UK.

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Why a Standard Will Leaves Your Property at Risk

Without a property protection trust will in place, your property passes outright to whoever inherits it. Once it passes outright, you lose all control over what happens to it next. If the beneficiary remarries, goes into care, has debts, or changes their own will, your property could end up somewhere you never intended. A property protection trust will separates the right to benefit from the property during a person’s lifetime from the right to ultimately own it, giving you a level of control that a standard will simply cannot provide.

How Our Property Protection Trust Will Solicitors Help

Drafting a property protection trust will involves several distinct steps. Our solicitors guide you through each one.

Severing the Joint Tenancy

For a property protection trust to work, each owner needs a defined share of the property. If you own as joint tenants, the right of survivorship means the whole property passes automatically to the survivor, bypassing your will entirely. We handle the severance and register the change with HM Land Registry.

Drafting the Trust Clause

The trust is written into your will as a specific clause that takes effect on your death. A poorly worded clause can create uncertainty for trustees and complications when the property is eventually sold. We make sure it is precise, legally sound, and reflects your exact intentions.

Appointing Trustees and Setting the Terms

We work with you to choose the right trustees and set out their powers clearly. The terms need to cover practical situations, what happens if the life tenant wants to sell and move, how maintenance costs are handled, and under what circumstances the life interest ends.

Care Home Fee Considerations

A property protection trust treats your share of the property separately from your estate for means-testing purposes. Because the asset is not passed outright, it is treated differently when care costs are assessed. The rules are complex and timing is critical, we explain how they apply to your situation.

What This Means for You

  • Your share of the property is protected and passes to your chosen beneficiaries
  • A named person can continue to live in or benefit from the property during their lifetime
  • Your property cannot be redirected due to remarriage, care fees, or changed circumstances
  • Your share is treated separately from the beneficiary’s own assets for certain purposes
  • Your wishes are legally documented in a structure that holds even if circumstances change

When to seek advice

  • You own property and want to control what happens to your share after death
  • You own property jointly and are concerned about what happens if the survivor remarries or goes into care
  • You have children from a previous relationship and want to protect their inheritance
  • You want to provide for someone during their lifetime without giving them outright ownership
  • Your existing will leaves property outright with no trust provisions

Meet the Founder

Marium brings 22 years of experience advising businesses and individuals on corporate, commercial and ILA law matters across the UK and the Middle East.

A qualified Solicitor individually authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA ID: 277854), Marium is also a registered Part II Practitioner and mediator in the DIFC Courts, and an established member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Her experience spans complex legal matters for high-profile clients throughout her career, she has been awarded the fastest growing women-led business in the UK recognised by Fortune 500 and former Prime Minister David Cameron.

Marium Razzaq - Solicitors in Manchester
Marium Razzaq
Solicitor & Director Mar Legal
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Why People Choose MAR Legal for Property Protection Trust Wills

Solicitor Led Drafting

Solicitors who work at MAR Legal handle every property protection trust will, ensuring the structure is legally sound.

Fast Turnaround

From severing the joint tenancy to signing the final will, we handle every step and keep you informed throughout.

Fixed Fee Pricing

Transparent costs agreed upfront covering the will drafting and any tenancy severance where needed.

Clear Explanation

We explain how the trust works in plain terms before any documents are drafted so you can make a fully informed decision.

Trusted by people across the UK for clear, accessible advice on Property Protection Trust Wills

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How Our Property Protection Trust Will Process Works

01

Initial consultation

We discuss your property ownership, your family circumstances, and what you want the trust to achieve.

02

Ownership Review

Where you own jointly as joint tenants, we handle the change to tenants in common and register it with HM Land Registry. For sole owners, this step is not needed.

03

Will Drafting

Our solicitors draft your will to include the property protection trust clause, appointing trustees and setting out the terms of the life interest clearly.

04

Signing and Execution

We guide you through the formal signing process to make sure the will is legally valid and properly executed.

What Our Clients Say

You May Also Need

A property protection trust will is often put in place alongside other estate planning documents. You may also want to consider mirror wills if you and your partner want matching provisions, lasting powers of attorney to protect your property interests if you lose capacity, and broader estate planning advice to make sure all your documents work together.

Common Questions About Property Protection Trust Wills

A property protection trust will is a will that places your share of a property into a trust on your death rather than leaving it outright to a beneficiary. The trust grants a named person, often called the life tenant, the right to live in or benefit from the property during their lifetime. When the life tenant dies or a specified condition is met, the trust ends, and the property passes to the ultimate beneficiaries you have named. It is also known as a protective property trust will or a property trust will.

Yes. You do not need to co-own a property for a property protection trust will to work. If you own a property in your sole name, your will can include a trust that grants a named person a life interest or right of occupation while protecting the capital for your chosen beneficiaries. There is no joint tenancy to sever in this situation. The trust is written directly into the will and takes effect on your death.

In most cases yes. If you own a property as joint tenants, the right of survivorship means the whole property passes automatically to the surviving owner when the first person dies, regardless of what the will says. For a property protection trust to work for jointly owned property, each person needs to own a distinct share, which requires changing to tenants in common. This is a straightforward process our solicitors handle as part of the overall will drafting.

A property protection trust can help protect the deceased’s share of the property from being assessed as part of a beneficiary’s assets if they go into care. Because the share is held in trust rather than passing outright, it is treated differently for means-testing purposes. However, the rules are complex, depend on individual circumstances, and timing is critical. Planning should be put in place for genuine estate planning reasons well in advance of any care need. We explain the position clearly and work alongside financial advisers where needed.

The life tenant can sell the property but cannot do so without the involvement of the trustees, and the proceeds from the protected share remain in the trust. If the life tenant wants to downsize, the trust money can be reinvested in a new property with the life tenant retaining their interest. The trust document needs to include a power to sell and reinvest to allow this flexibility, which our solicitors build into the drafting as standard.

A property protection trust is a specific type of life interest trust where the trust asset is a share of the family home. A life interest trust is a broader structure that can hold any assets, not just property. The mechanics are the same: a life tenant benefits from the asset during their lifetime and the capital passes to named beneficiaries when the trust ends. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but a property protection trust specifically refers to property.

MAR Legal offers fixed-fee pricing for property protection trust wills so you know the cost from the outset. The fee covers the will drafting and any tenancy severance where needed. The cost depends on the complexity of your circumstances, including whether you are a sole or joint owner, the terms of the life interest, and the number of trustees and beneficiaries involved. We discuss pricing at the initial consultation before any work begins.

MAR Legal provides property protection trust will drafting and tenancy severance advice. We do not undertake probate, reserved legal activities, or regulated financial advice. Care home fee planning involves complex rules and individual circumstances vary significantly. Where matters require specialist financial or tax advice, we work alongside appropriately qualified professionals. All content on this page is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice.