Secure your family home within a protective bubble and preserve it for future generations while allowing you to maintain control during your lifetime.
We’ve been named Estate Planning Firm of the Year – Boutique at the 2025 British Wills and Probate Awards.
A Discretionary Lifetime Trust is a legal arrangement where Trustees are made responsible for property or assets on behalf of your beneficiaries. It is implemented during your lifetime to preserve your wealth and safeguard your family home, ensuring your loved ones receive the maximum benefit from your estate.
This type of Discretionary Trust has been used in the UK for hundreds of years and is one of the most valuable and versatile Estate Planning tools available.
Our Estate Management Plan is a complete solution for all of your Estate Planning needs and includes the following benefits:
A Lifetime Trust provides complete protection for your family's home.
A Last Will & Testament ensures that your wishes are followed and provides clarity for your loved ones.
A Property and Financial Lasting Power of Attorney ensures that someone you trust can make important decisions on your behalf, no matter what happens.
Store your irreplaceable documents in our state-of-the-art facilities, ensuring they are safe and accessible when needed. Also, get your own personal digital asset vault.
Our team is available to guide your executors if needed, providing peace of mind for you and your family.
If required, your executors can access unbeatable Probate discounts, helping to reduce costs during a difficult time.
We understand that life changes, so we offer unlimited updates to your Will to reflect your evolving wishes.
Our team is always here to support you and your family with any Estate Planning questions.
Here are some of the reasons why
Your Trustees can respond to changing or unforeseen circumstances, including your beneficiaries' financial or personal situations, ensuring they receive their inheritance at the right time. A Lifetime Trust is also at the core of our Estate Management Plan, which gives you and your family access to ongoing support, legal advice and updates.
A Lifetime Trust can be a sensible way of ensuring children from previous relationships still receive their inheritance. It also ensures your assets stay within your family in the event of a divorce or if your partner should choose to remarry after your passing.
The details of a Lifetime Trust are not made publicly available, unlike a Will, which the public can see after your passing. Also, a Trust cannot be contested in the same way that a Will can.
Securing your assets within a Lifetime Trust can help to maintain control over care home fees should the need arise during your lifetime. In addition, by placing property into a Lifetime Trust, it may not need to pass through the probate process. This can help to speed up the distribution, ensuring your loved ones receive their inheritance more quickly.
Compare the different levels of protection and decide which is right for you
No, the structure of our Lifetime Trust does not avoid Inheritance Tax. It is designed to protect your family home while allowing you to maintain control during your lifetime. For tax purposes, it is treated as a Gift with a Reservation of Benefit (GROB).
Lifetime Discretionary Trusts give Trustees the power to determine who, among a group of your chosen beneficiaries, will inherit, as well as the amount and timing of the distribution.
It gives your Trustees more flexibility enabling them to protect your assets if circumstances change, e.g. a beneficiary is facing bankruptcy, divorce or is struggling with addictions or debts.
We advise including an Article of Wishes alongside your Lifetime Trust to guide your Trustees.
A Trustee is an individual entrusted with the control and administration of property or assets held in a Trust, with the legal duty to manage it for the specified purposes.
You can have 2 Trustees, up to a maximum of 4. You, the Settlor, can also be a Trustee.
Anyone you would like, your partner, children, relatives, friends and even charities can all be beneficiaries of a Lifetime Trust.
Yes, a Trustee can also be a beneficiary of a Trust.
The Settlor is the person putting assets into the Trust.
From the 1st of March 2022, Lifetime Trusts must be registered with HMRC. We will register your Trust during the creation process.
Lifetime Trusts can last up to 125 years, but your Trustees can end the Trust if needed.
We are committed to protecting your loved ones and hard-earned assets by offering straightforward and cost-effective solutions to your needs.
We specialise exclusively in Will Writing and Estate Planning, allowing us to deliver exceptional service, as reflected in our outstanding client reviews.
Established in 2000, ELM has delivered a professional and reliable service ever since. As members of the Institute of Professional Will Writers, we ensure all staff gain industry-recognised qualifications.
We’ve helped over 30,000 people complete their Wills, giving them peace of mind that their family’s future is protected.
As every situation is unique, we offer free, no-obligation enquiries to provide a service tailored to your needs.
Want more information on Lifetime Trusts and Estate Administration? Complete our contact form, and we'll get back to you. Alternatively, call or send us an email using the details below.
