Protect our assets

I am 70, my wife is 68. Our assets are 2 properties worth £800 and £100k, ISAs worth £70k and a SIPP of £44k. Both properties are Tenants in Common. We wish to protect our assets from Care Home fees and leave our assets equally to our 3 children. One provider has recomemnded wills using Discretionary Trust of Residue, another using Asset Protection Trust or Revocable Life Interest Trust. If you were me which trust would you opt for and why ? Or something else ?

All thoughts welcome.

Is my question in the right part of this  forum ?


Mike

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Comments

  • Brie
    Brie Posts: 14,273 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    One might also wonder what you're children would like.  If all they are concerned about is the money well I'd be cutting them out of the will frankly.  If they were, however, concerned about your quality of life then they won't want you to be "protecting" your assets from care home fees.  
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  • Following.  

    Having seen a grandparent spend nine years in a care home after a stroke in his seventies I don't blame you for looking into this.  His wife joined him for about 18 months.  

    After years of working hard (including serving in WW2), paying tax, living modestly and investing wisely virtually all their assets (house, car, caravan) and savings were wiped out by the time they died. 

    Thats not what we sign up for, why should people in that position have to lose everything they've worked for all their lives?


  • njkmr
    njkmr Posts: 252 Forumite
    100 Posts First Anniversary
    Personally I'm with Mike on this one.
    He's probably worked hard all his life to build up his estate and to have it taken away in later years is not acceptable.
    My mother went into care two years ago and pays most of her pension etc towards the fees and is left with £30 for her own essentials. That's it, so she is still contributing to her care.
    Fortunately we found a great care home locally and she is doing great considering her advanced stage of dementia , but the care she gets is fabulous. So it's not the Cost of the care home it's the care it gives that is important.
    Mike's money ,house etc should not be taken as another form of tax.
    There are people who walzt through life contributing nothing , not 
    Saving , not working etc etc who then also get cared for in later life.
    Mike has contributed already paying tax I assume so we are not paying for his care he has already paid towards it and no doubt will pay more when it's needed towards his own care. He just doesn't want stripping of his lifes work at the latter end and I think that's fine.
    Good luck Mike I hope you find a way that suits your need, and your family benefits from your life's work.
    Regards
    Rob.
  • 0779mike
    0779mike Posts: 71 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 29 December 2023 at 5:24PM
    I have worked all my life, paid NI and income tax for 50 years and claimed unemployment for just 4 weeks. That is the sum total of state benefits I have had.  We all have to make choices, I chose to live prudently and save my money.

    I want my wife and children to control how my assets are spent not the local authority.

    I have had some great advice in this forum in the past but I may have posted my question in the wrong place this time.
  • badmemory
    badmemory Posts: 9,437 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I certainly wouldn't want any family member of mine to be in a cheapo care home unless they have a visitor every single day.  It does seem to make a difference although we all know it shouldn't.  So would one of those children be doing that to earn their third of a million?
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