How can you pass on your house to your children

adept

Has anyone got any advice on how to pass one's house on to the children without the state grabbing great lumps of the value

Coupon-mad

Well I am no expert but my OH and his siblings inherited their parents' small house 2 years ago without the state getting any of it.

Slightly unusual, his Mum owned the house outright because she'd been married before and she had the house before she met OH's Dad. Her will stated that the house would be left to the children on her death, but if her husband outlived her (which he did) then he could live there for the rest of his lifetime.

I think this was set up via a Deed of Trust, and when she died my OH and his siblings were the owners but obviously couldn't (and wouldn't) sell the house as their Dad was living in it.

My M-I-L was in a nursing home before she died, but the state couldn't get their hands on the money tied up in the property because of F-I-L living there. Then, much later, when he was in a nursing home & hospice this was also state-funded because he didn't own the property.

I am worried about my own Mum's flat being grabbed by the state if she goes into a nursing home. She owns it outright and lives there alone, she is not in good health and is 75 years old. I would be interested in any thoughts about what she could do to ensure the inheritance is passed on to her children...