3 reasons to protect your home

If you own your home jointly with your husband or wife and pass away first, they will automatically become the sole owner of the house (regardless of whether you have a Will or not).

This is probably what you want in the first instance but subsequently the home may not pass to your children as intended! 

Here are 3 reasons why:

1.     Re-marriage

If your partner re-marries after you have gone this will cancel any current Will. If your partner then dies before their new spouse – the new spouse will receive the majority, if not all, of the estate (including your share of the family home) rather than your children. Even if your current husband or wife makes a new Will, this can be legally challenged if the new spouse is not provided for.

2.     Change of Will

Even if you may have made Wills together, which are mirror images of eachother, your partner is still free to change their own Will at any point after you have gone. This may be to benefit a new partner or spouse, to dis-inherit a son or daughter after a falling out, or, if you have different children from previous relationships, to benefit their own children only. 

3.     Care Fees

If your husband or wife needs care after you have gone the property could be used to fund their care fees. The home may be sold to pay the care fees, or a legal charge may be placed on the property (a debt to be re-paid when the home is eventually sold) resulting in there being very little to pass to your children after all.

With Property Protection Trust Wills from Essential Later Life Planning, you can protect against ALL 3 scenarios, ring-fencing your share of the family home for your children (whatever their age).

Why not watch our video demonstration to learn more.

Not sure if your property is in joint names, or want to know the cost to protect your home?

No problem, just submit your details below and we will email you a HM Land Registry extract (confirming how you own your home) along with a fixed-fee quote for our PPT Wills.