I see a lot of adverts telling us that standard “Mirror Wills” are a bad idea and that we should be putting our money and assets into trusts. I think a lot of people are confused by this.
Mirror Wills are identical wills that couples make leaving everything to each other. However under this type of will, if one partner dies and the other needs to go into a care home, it means that the couple’s combined assets are now available for payment of care fees. You should take your solicitor’s advice on this, but you could consider dividing your property so that you hold equal shares in it by becoming tenants in common. You then make will trusts leaving your share to your children, thereby protecting it from payment of care fees, while giving the survivor the right to remain in the property.