An Asset Protection Trust (APT) is one of the best ways to protect your estate and your assets when faced with long term care fees, but many people do not know about this legal tool, despite its increase in use. With long term care for the elderly an increasing strain on finances, lots of people are looking for ways in which they can safeguard their cash, assets and estate, enabling them to pay for long term care but still use their estate. Let’s look at why Universal’s APTs are often the answer.
When it comes to care fees, any assets held in trust are normally disregarded. So, as long as the trust has been properly set up and the assets ring fenced in this way, the trust offers great protection. We say ‘as long as the trust has been properly set up’, because APTs are a highly specialised area, and must be drawn up by experts in the field. In fact, many solicitors, IFAs and accountants refer people to Estate Legacy Services knowing that they use Universal and recognising our expertise and specialism in APTs.
How do Asset Protection Trusts work?
APTs work to protect your assets by holding assets in trust for your benefit during your lifetime. The benefit of this means that you have great flexibility and can move or release capital at any time without restriction. If you need to move into sheltered accommodation in your own old age, you can sell up and do so, using the cash generated by the sale as income.
Universal’s APT is fully reversible, meaning you can return your affairs to the way they currently stand should you ever have a change of heart.
The benefits of Asset Protection Trusts
Asset Protection Trusts are not only used by people who want to protect their assets from fees related to long term care. There are many other reasons people choose a Universal’s APT. The Trust creates a protective environment, saving loved ones significant amounts of money, and enabling your estate to pass to your family just as you wish. On the event of your death, an APT helps your family avoid the pressure of probate, saving them significant amounts of money in legal fees, time consuming delays and lots of heartache along the way. In fact, the assets held in trust are often paid out in a matter of days.
APTs also prevent claims on your estate claims, guard against sideways disinheritance and mean there will be no court of protection control. The trust can also protect your assets from being taken should you be subject to bankruptcy or unforeseen business debts. Should a personal relationship fail, an APT can provide you financial protection and peace of mind, protecting your estate for yourself and for any children who may be involved.
The benefits of APTs continue: they protect disabled or unemployed beneficiaries, allowing such beneficiaries to apply for assets you have placed within the trust without loss of benefits. The APT can also provide important protection from Inheritance Tax as assets held with the Trust do not form part of the taxable estate of your beneficiaries meaning that assets passing to your children will not be taxed on their death which could save your grandchildren thousands of pounds in inheritance tax.
Is is critical that you have your APT drawn up by a fully qualified and experienced professional, as it simply must be timed correctly and made completely watertight if it is to offer you full protection in the future. Talk to us about protecting your assets with an Asset Protection Trust. We are specialists and will happily give you the very latest guidance on this powerful legal protection tool.
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