By Maple Wills Estate Planning Team | Estate Planning | 4 min read
Quick Answer
A Family Asset Protection Trust (also known as an Inter Vivos Trust, or sometimes referred to as a Lifetime Trust) is a legal arrangement established under English and Welsh law. It allows you to transfer ownership of your home and other assets into a trust during your lifetime, whilst retaining the right to live in and benefit from them. The trust is managed by trustees you appoint, which can include yourself, and is designed to protect your assets from a range of future risks, including care home fee assessments, probate, and the unintended effects of divorce or remarriage. At Maple Wills, our FAPT+ service builds on this foundation with no entry, periodic, or exit charges.
You’ve spent decades building a life worth protecting. A home you’ve paid into for years. Savings are set aside through careful planning. Children and grandchildren you want to provide for. Estate planning might not be top of the agenda right now, but the truth is, there’s never been a better moment to act.
Because here’s what most people over 50 don’t realise: the longer you wait, the narrower your options become. A Family Asset Protection Trust (FAPT) could be one of the most powerful steps you take to ensure your home, your savings, and your legacy stay exactly where you intend, with the people you love.
In this article, we’re going to answer the question directly: what actually is a Family Asset Protection Trust, how does it work under UK law, and why is it particularly relevant for those who are thinking seriously about their later years?
What is a Family Asset Protection Trust?
A Family Asset Protection Trust, also known in legal terms as an Inter Vivos Trust (meaning a ‘trust between the living’), or sometimes referred to as a Lifetime Trust, is a legal structure that allows you to place your assets, typically your home, into a trust whilst you are still alive.
Unlike a will, which only takes effect after you die, a Family Asset Protection Trust is established and active during your lifetime. This is an important distinction because it means the protection it provides begins now, not at some point in the future.
Once your assets are held within the trust, you and your co-trustees manage them on behalf of your beneficiaries. You can still live in your home. Your day-to-day life does not change.
How does a Family Asset Protection Trust work under UK law?
Under English and Welsh law, when you establish a Family Asset Protection Trust, you are known as the ‘settlor’. You transfer legal ownership of your assets into the trust, which is then managed by trustees. You can appoint yourself, your partner, and other trusted people, including parents or even adult children, as trustees.
The trust deed, the legal document that governs the trust, sets out exactly how assets should be managed and who the beneficiaries are. Beneficiaries are those who will ultimately inherit: your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on down the bloodline.
Crucially, this is what estate planners call ‘bloodline planning’. Assets can pass from one generation to the next within the trust structure, meaning your children, their children, and their children’s children can all benefit, as you intend.
Why does this matter, particularly if you’re over 50?
Once you reach your fifties, the conversations around care, inheritance, and what happens to your home become far more real. You may have watched a parent navigate the care system, or perhaps you’ve started thinking about what you’d want for yourself. A Family Asset Protection Trust is particularly well-suited to this life stage, because it addresses the specific risks that matter most when you’ve spent a lifetime building something worth protecting.
- Care home fees in later life: Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities in England can assess your assets when calculating your contribution to care costs. Assets held appropriately within a trust may be treated differently from personally-held assets. Timing matters greatly here, and we always give an honest assessment of what is achievable in your specific situation.
- Probate delays and costs: Assets held within a trust do not typically pass through your estate on death, which means they may not be subject to the probate process. Your loved ones can access what’s theirs more quickly and privately.
- The impact of divorce: Should your children face a divorce in the future, assets held within a properly structured bloodline trust may be protected from being considered as part of a divorce settlement, keeping your family’s home in the family.
- Remarriage: If you or your partner remarries later in life, a trust can ensure your assets remain designated for your children rather than being redirected unintentionally.
- Intestacy: Without a will or trust in place, the rules of intestacy under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 will determine what happens to your estate, and those rules may not reflect your wishes at all.
Acting now, whilst you are fit, well, and thinking clearly about the future, is always far simpler than putting protections in place once circumstances have already changed. For those over 50, the window of opportunity is open, but it is not unlimited.
What does the ‘+’ in Maple Wills’ FAPT+ service mean?
At Maple Wills, our Family Asset Protection Trust+ (FAPT+) service goes beyond the trust document itself. The ‘+’ reflects several important things that set our service apart:
- No entry charges, no periodic charges, and no exit charges – we structure your trust specifically to avoid these, giving you complete cost clarity from day one.
- A full estate planning review, so we understand your whole picture before making any recommendations.
- Coordinated Will and Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) advice, so all parts of your estate plan work together.
- Ongoing support as your circumstances evolve, because a trust put in place in your fifties may well benefit from a review as you move into your sixties, seventies, and beyond.
- Access to our complete suite of free digital brochures, including our dedicated Family Asset Protection Trust guide.
We also only recommend a FAPT+ where it is genuinely the right solution for your family. Our advisers are underwritten by qualified SRA solicitors, and we will always give you an honest, balanced view of what a trust can and cannot achieve in your situation.
Frequently asked questions
Do I lose control of my home if I put it into a trust?
No. As a settlor and trustee, you retain the right to live in and benefit from your home for your lifetime. The legal ownership is structured differently, but your day-to-day life and use of your property are entirely unchanged.
Is a Family Asset Protection Trust the same as a will?
No, and this is an important distinction. A will only takes effect after death and must pass through probate. A Family Asset Protection Trust is a living arrangement that takes effect immediately upon signing, is active during your lifetime, and assets held within it do not typically form part of your estate for probate purposes. The two often work together as part of a comprehensive estate plan.
Are there tax implications I should know about?
There can be, depending on the type of assets transferred and how the trust is structured. Considerations may include Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if property is involved. At Maple Wills, our FAPT+ service is structured to avoid entry, periodic, and exit charges; no stamp duty, and no capital gains tax applies. We will walk through any relevant tax considerations with you during your consultation and involve specialist tax advice where needed.
Is it too late to set up a trust in my fifties or sixties?
Absolutely not, in fact, your fifties and early sixties are often the ideal time to act. You’re likely to have built up significant assets, your children may have grown up, and you have time to plan properly before health or care needs become a consideration. The key is not to wait until circumstances change, because by then your options may be more limited.
Important: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice. The suitability of any trust arrangement depends on your individual circumstances. Care fee planning outcomes cannot be guaranteed and are subject to local authority assessment at the time of need under the Care Act 2014. Maple Wills is a member of the Society of Will Writers. Services are underwritten by qualified SRA-regulated solicitors. Maple Wills is registered in England and Wales. Company No: 12642976.
