Peter and Anne enjoyed a comfortable retirement in Dorset. Their mortgage was paid, they had savings and hoped their home would eventually provide an inheritance for their children and grandchildren.
Then a close friend, Margaret, developed dementia and required residential care.
They watched as substantial care fees began eating into savings she had spent a lifetime building. As costs continued, difficult decisions also had to be made about her home.
Driving home after visiting Margaret, Anne asked Peter:
“We’ve worked all our lives for our home. Could the same thing happen to us?”
That question changed their approach to estate planning.
They wanted to understand whether steps taken well in advance of needing care, as part of genuine estate planning, could provide greater protection for their home and family wealth.
Following professional advice, Peter and Anne reviewed their Wills, arranged Lasting Powers of Attorney and considered placing their home into a properly structured Living Trust.
A Living Trust can provide valuable asset protection and, depending upon the circumstances, can help protect the family home where future care costs become an issue. Care-fee planning must, however, be undertaken correctly. Local authorities can challenge arrangements where avoiding care charges was a significant reason for transferring assets, particularly where care needs were already foreseeable.
Their planning also provided greater protection against probate delays, divorce, bankruptcy or creditors affecting their children’s inheritance.
Their experience taught them one important lesson:
The time to consider protecting your home is while you’re fit, healthy and planning for the future — not when a care crisis has already arrived. ( keep this sentence in bold )
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