How can I protect my home and children’s inheritance?
Estate planning experts ILAWS explain how to prevent the home you have worked so hard for being lost to care fees
Homeowners in Scotland who do not write an essential legal document are risking losing their home, long after their mortgage is paid off. That’s a friendly warning from Will-writing and estate planning experts.
It’s true, even though your home has been paid off in full and you are enjoying financial freedom, you can still end up losing your home – after 20-25 years of mortgage payments. That’s because your home could be sold and the value used to fund the costs of you, or your spouse’s care, should one or both of you go into a care home.
Often people assume they are automatically protected – or worse still, are of the ‘it’ll never happen to me’ opinion – but because we are living longer, our chances of going into a care home increase, as our care needs escalate. And, unless we take steps to ensure we are protected, the risk is very real.
How can we protect our homes from being sold to meet care home costs? And how can we make sure our homes go to our children, as planned? We asked Tony Marchi, principal at ILAWS, to explain: “In Scotland today, homeowners who have worked hard all their lives to pay off their mortgages are having to sell their homes to pay for care home fees.
“But there are legitimate ways of protecting your home from being used to pay for this care. Arranging a Protected Property trust is a legally-binding arrangement that you control when you pass your home on to someone, like a spouse or other family member.
“You could also transfer ownership of your home to your children now, this is a way of protecting their inheritance as well as your property. It is a way of securing it, and it cannot be sold from under you as you are legally allowed to remain living in the property until you die.”
Is everyone at risk? Unless you have assets worth less than £29,750 (this figure includes the value of your home and any savings) then you will be at risk of losing your home if you go into care, in Scotland. Those who have less than this amount won’t have to
contribute to the cost of care should they go into a care home.
What can I do today to protect my home? Within just a few weeks, you can have the essential legal documents in place, and it all begins with a phone call to ILAWS Scotland. The estate planning experts, who have clients all over Scotland, have saved so many homeowners from losing their home to pay for care home fees, by setting up trusts or transfers for them. Why not give ILAWS a call to see if you are eligible?
From your initial phone call, and throughout the entire process, ILAWS will look after you and explain any legal jargon you may be unfamiliar with, in a language you can understand. There are a couple of options for setting up an appointment: you can visit the team at their offices including a new office in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire or, if you would prefer to stay at home, then book a home visit where a representative from ILAWS will arrange your legal documents for you in the comfort of your own home. There is no charge for a home visit and ILAWS cover almost all of Scotland.
While speaking to ILAWS, why not ask about a Power of Attorney, if you have not set one up yet, or writing a Will. It is advisable for every adult in Scotland to have both a POA and a Will in place. With living costs rising, often POAs and Wills are pushed down the priority lists – however, they are highly important because one ensures your wishes are carried out when you are alive (POA) and the other ensures your wishes are carried out, as you want, when you are no longer here ( Will). And, they are less expensive than you might think – in fact, it has never been more affordable to create a Power of Attorney, as ILAWS is still offering this essential legal document for the reduced rate of 192 (this prices includes vat) plus £81 to ensure your POA is registered officially with the Scottish Courts, so make that call today before this special discount comes to an end.
Transferring home ownership is a way of protecting your children’s inheritance