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Lifetime Trusts

Put your property or savings into a trust while you are alive so they are managed for your family in the way you want. Our experienced estate planners and in-house lawyers design, draft, register, and support Lifetime Trusts with clear pricing and practical guidance.

In-House Lawyers

Free Home Consultations

Free Estate Plan Review

Fixed, Transparent Fees

Book Your Free Consultation Call Now: 0330 043 5597

Understanding Lifetime Trusts

What Is a Lifetime Trust?

A Lifetime Trust is a legal arrangement you set up during your lifetime to hold assets such as your home, savings, or investments. Trustees manage those assets for your chosen beneficiaries according to the trust deed and your letter of wishes.

Key Roles

Settlor: you, the person creating and funding the trust. Trustees: people or professionals you appoint to manage the trust. Beneficiaries: the people who may benefit now or in future.

What It Can Hold

Family homes, buy-to-lets, cash, and portfolios. We advise on when to use a life interest model for stability or a discretionary model for flexibility.

Control & Safeguards

Trustees follow the deed and act in beneficiaries’ best interests. You can keep influence with a letter of wishes and careful trustee selection.

Registration

Most Lifetime Trusts must be registered on HMRC’s Trust Registration Service unless exempt. We handle TRS and setup paperwork.

Good to Know:

Lifetime Trusts start working straight away. You can test trustee dynamics, support family now, and keep guidance up to date with a letter of wishes.

When It Makes Sense

Why Set Up a Lifetime Trust?

Lifetime Trusts give structure and protection while you are alive, not only through your Will. Common reasons to use one are below.

Young or Vulnerable Beneficiaries

Provide support in stages, protect from misuse, and keep oversight with trustees who know your wishes.

Blended Families

Balance a partner’s needs with children from a previous relationship without rigid percentage gifts.

Protection From Claims

Separate personal ownership to reduce exposure to divorce, creditors, or spendthrift risks. Not a guarantee, but an extra layer of protection.

Tax Planning

Used sensibly with allowances, trusts can help manage inheritance tax over time. We outline costs and trade-offs before you act.

Keep the Family Home

Hold property in trust so it can be lived in or retained for the family, with distributions timed to real needs.

Live Oversight

Because you set it up during life, you can see how trustees operate and refine your letter of wishes as circumstances change.

Protecting Your Home:

A Lifetime Trust can help reduce the chance of your property being sold to pay for care by keeping ownership separate from your personal assets. Set up correctly, it can protect family wealth and give your loved ones more control over how your estate is used in the future.

Simple Process

Building Your Lifetime Trust

We handle everything from first conversation to registration and funding, with clear steps and no jargon.

Free Estate Plan Review & Consultation

Free home or video meeting to review your goals, assets, and family needs. We explain where a Lifetime Trust fits and outline costs in plain English.

No-obligation consultation
Review of existing Wills and LPAs
Clear recommendations

Drafting & Legal Preparation

Our in-house lawyers prepare your trust deed, letter of wishes, and any transfer documents. We brief your trustees and set up a simple admin process.

Professionally drafted trust deed
Trustee guidance and templates
Clear funding steps

Completion, Registration & Funding

We complete signatures, register on HMRC TRS where required, update Land Registry if property is involved, and help fund the trust correctly.

TRS registration handled
Land Registry updates if needed
Ongoing support

Typical Timeline: Drafting within 1 to 2 weeks after instructions. Registration and asset transfers follow once signed.

Why Choose Us

Why Choose Johnson & Johnson For Your Lifetime Trust

You get clear advice, tight drafting, and practical trustee guidance from professionals who build estate plans every day.

In-House Lawyers

Advice and drafting handled by our own legal team working alongside experienced estate planners.

Free Home Visit, No Obligation

We meet you where you are, explain options in plain English, and only proceed when you are comfortable.

Free Estate Plan Review

We review your existing Wills, LPAs, and policies so the trust integrates cleanly with everything else.

Fixed Fees, Clear Scope

No hourly surprises. You get an itemised proposal covering drafting, TRS, and onboarding trustees.

Trustee Pack Included

Includes the Trust Deed, Letter of Wishes, trustee resolutions, asset transfer forms, TRS registration, and Land Registry documents where needed.

Secure Document Storage

Digital copies with optional physical storage so trustees can access what they need quickly.

In-House Legal

Nationwide Service

Home & Video Visits

Fixed-Fee Drafting

"They set up our Lifetime Trust quickly and explained everything in simple terms. The trustee pack made ongoing admin easy."

M. Turner Essex

"The free estate review fixed issues in our old documents. The Lifetime Trust now protects the house for the children."

S. Ahmed Norwich

4.9

Rated excellent on Google & Trustpilot

Common Questions

Lifetime Trusts FAQs

Straight answers to the most frequent queries. If you need specifics, book a free consultation.

Often useful if you want protection and control while alive. Good for young beneficiaries, blended families, or where you want trustees to manage timing and amounts of support.

Often yes, with at least one other trustee for balance and continuity. We help you choose the right mix of family and professional oversight.

Depending on the model, there may be lifetime IHT on transfers above allowances, plus relevant property charges at ten-year points and on exits. Income tax and CGT can also apply. We explain the numbers before you proceed.

A trust can help by keeping ownership separate from your personal assets. Local authorities can review motive, so we set up correctly and explain the rules so you can make an informed choice.

It guides trustees on how to use the trust for your family. It is not binding, so you can update it as life changes without redrafting the deed.

Modern trusts can last up to 125 years, though most families plan to wind up once objectives are met.

Still Have Questions?

Get personal guidance and a no-nonsense view of pros, cons, and costs. Free and no obligation.

Book Free Consultation

Coverage Area

Local Areas We Cover

We provide professional will writing and estate planning services across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and the surrounding regions, covering all NR, IP, CO, CM, SS, PE, NN and MK postcode areas.

Norfolk (NR Postcodes)

Norwich
Great Yarmouth
King's Lynn
Thetford
Diss
Dereham
Wymondham
Cromer and North Norfolk

Suffolk (IP Postcodes)

Ipswich
Bury St Edmunds
Felixstowe
Stowmarket
Sudbury
Haverhill
Newmarket
Surrounding IP villages

Essex (CO, CM, SS)

Colchester (CO)
Chelmsford (CM)
Southend on Sea (SS)
Clacton on Sea
Braintree
Maldon
Brentwood
Rayleigh, Leigh on Sea and nearby areas

Surrounding Regions (PE, NN, MK)

Peterborough and PE postcode areas
Northampton, Kettering and NN postcodes
Milton Keynes and MK postcodes
Wellingborough and Rushden
Corby and Daventry
Bletchley and Newport Pagnell
Local towns and villages in PE, NN and MK

Surrounding Towns and Villages: If you are within any NR, IP, CO, CM, SS, PE, NN or MK postcode, we can usually offer home visits or remote appointments. If you are unsure, contact us and we will confirm coverage.

Book your free consultation in your local area today.

Call 0330 043 5597