A Property Protection Trust (PPT) is a Trust that is written into your Wills. It is widely regarded as an enhanced Will. It can be created when a property is jointly owned, as a married couple or any partnership. 

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Typically, a married couple will leave their entire estate to each other but in the case of a Property Protection Trust, it works differently. You are able to leave your individual share of your jointly owned property to whoever you would like to benefit from it i.e. your children rather than it going to your spouse.

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As part of the Trust framework, a Severance of Tenancy will also need to be completed. This process creates the individual shares in a property, which are then disposed of through individual Wills. 

 

Benefits of a Property Protection Trust

It guarantees who benefits from your share of the property if your spouse remarries after you die (marriage would invalidate any existing Wills).

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It protects against your spouse or partner making a new will after you die, changing their original wishes. 

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It can protect part of the property from care home fees if the surviving spouse or partner requires care in the future or enters into financial difficulty. 

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What does this mean for your spouse or partner? 

Your spouse or partner, as the remaining joint owner would have a legal right to live in the property after you have died for the rest of their life. No other persons can evict them from the property. 

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Your spouse or partner would still be able to sell the property and buy another property. The surviving owner usually controls the trust with at least one other person, known as a trustee. Trustees are normally family members.