Leaving the Family Home in Your Will UK (2026): Joint Tenants, Life Interest Trusts and IHT

Whether your will controls the family home depends entirely on how you own it: (1) JOINT TENANTS — WILL DOES NOT CONTROL THE HOME: if you own your home as joint tenants (the most common ownership type for married couples), the right of survivorship applies automatically on death. The deceased's 'share' passes to the surviving co-owner outside the will, outside the estate, and outside probate — as if by operation of law. The surviving co-owner notifies the Land Registry using Form DJP and a death certificate. Your will has no effect on jointly owned property held as joint tenants; (2) TENANTS IN COMMON — WILL DOES CONTROL YOUR SHARE: if you own as tenants in common (each person owns a defined share, typically 50/50 but sometimes unequal), the deceased's share is a separate asset. It passes under the will or, if there is no will, under the intestacy rules. This means: the deceased can leave their share to anyone — children, stepchildren, a charity, a trust. The deceased's share falls into the estate for IHT, probate, and creditor purposes; (3) HOW TO CHECK YOUR OWNERSHIP TYPE: look at the Land Registry title register (register entry). If there is a 'Form A restriction' ('No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate is to be completed…') on the Proprietorship Register, you are tenants in common. No such restriction = likely joint tenants. Search your title at gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry; (4) CONVERTING FROM JOINT TENANTS TO TENANTS IN COMMON: you can sever the joint tenancy unilaterally — you do not need the other owner's agreement. Serve a written notice of severance on the co-owner and file Form RX1 at the Land Registry. From that point, your 50% share is owned as tenants in common and controlled by your will. Severance is commonly done to enable IHT planning on the first death.

A life interest trust (also called an immediate post-death interest trust or IPDI) is the most common structure for leaving the family home in a will when you want to protect both the surviving partner and your children: (1) HOW IT WORKS: the deceased leaves their share of the home into a life interest trust in their will. The surviving partner (the life tenant) has the right to live in the property for the rest of their life — they cannot be evicted. On the life tenant's death, the trust ends and the capital (the deceased's share) passes to the final beneficiaries — usually children or grandchildren; (2) WHY IT IS USED: (a) Second marriages: protects children from a first relationship. If the home passes outright to the surviving spouse, they could later change their will to exclude the children. The life interest trust ensures the children receive the capital eventually; (b) Care home fees protection (limited): if the surviving partner moves into residential care, the trust's share of the property cannot be assessed for means-testing (it is not the life tenant's capital — it belongs to the trust). However, the life tenant's own half (their outright ownership) is still assessable. Local authorities scrutinise recent severances and trust creations for evidence of deliberate deprivation; (c) Creditor protection: the trust's share is protected from the life tenant's personal creditors or bankruptcy; (d) IHT planning: the life interest trust qualifies as an Immediate Post-Death Interest (IPDI) under IHTA 1984 s.49A. The life tenant is treated as owning the trust property for IHT — when the life tenant dies, the trust property is in their estate. This means: the spouse exemption applies on the first death (creating the trust for a spouse is IHT-free); the trust property is taxed in the survivor's estate on the second death — using both the transferable NRB (£650k combined) and RNRB (if the property passes to direct descendants on second death); (3) REQUIREMENTS: the joint tenancy must be severed before death to enable the tenants in common structure the trust needs. A will trust must be professionally drafted to correctly create an IPDI. The will must name at least two trustees (often the surviving spouse plus an adult child or professional trustee); (4) LIFE TENANT RIGHTS: the life tenant has the right to occupy the property, to receive all net rental income if the property is rented out, and to benefit from the property consistent with the trust deed. Trustees manage the trust property; the life tenant has no right to sell or mortgage the trust property independently.

The Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB) is an additional IHT-free threshold worth up to £175,000 per person (frozen until April 2030) that applies specifically when a qualifying residential property passes to direct descendants. For couples, the combined RNRB (with the transferable amount from the first death) can reach £350,000 — on top of the combined NRB of £650,000 — giving qualifying estates a total threshold of £1,000,000: (1) QUALIFYING CONDITIONS FOR RNRB: (a) A residential property (or interest in one) that the deceased lived in at some point — it does not have to be the current home, and it can be a former home sold before death ('downsizing addition'); (b) The property (or the downsizing addition) passes to 'direct descendants' — children, stepchildren, foster children, adopted children, grandchildren, and their spouses or civil partners. It does NOT apply to nieces, nephews, siblings, or non-relatives; (c) The estate must not exceed £2 million net — above £2 million the RNRB tapers at £1 for every £2 over the threshold, disappearing entirely at £2.35 million for a single person; (2) JOINT TENANTS AND RNRB: when a jointly-owned home passes by survivorship to a spouse (joint tenants), the spouse exemption means no IHT on first death. The RNRB for the deceased is unused but it transfers to the surviving spouse's estate for use on second death — provided the property (or a qualifying substitute) eventually passes to direct descendants; (3) TENANTS IN COMMON AND RNRB: each owner's share can use the RNRB separately, provided the share passes to direct descendants. A tenants in common share passing to children under the will on first death can use the RNRB against the deceased's estate; (4) LIFE INTEREST TRUST AND RNRB: a life interest trust (IPDI) for the surviving spouse means the trust property is in the surviving spouse's estate (IPDI treatment under IHTA 1984 s.49A). On the life tenant's death, the trust property passes to children = qualifies for RNRB at the second death; (5) CLAIMING RNRB: the RNRB is not automatic — executors claim it on form IHT435 as part of the IHT400 or (for excepted estates below the threshold) confirm entitlement in the probate application; (6) TRANSFERABLE RNRB: unused RNRB from a deceased spouse transfers to the survivor, even if neither lived in the qualifying property (or it was sold). This is claimed via form IHT436.

The choice between joint tenants and tenants in common has significant IHT and estate planning implications for couples: (1) JOINT TENANTS — SIMPLER BUT LESS FLEXIBLE: on first death, the property passes automatically to the surviving partner by survivorship. No IHT at first death (spouse exemption). No probate needed for the property. The full property value is in the surviving partner's estate on second death — where IHT will apply above the combined NRB+RNRB. Advantage: simple, instant survivorship, good for smaller estates where combined threshold (up to £1m for qualifying couple) is above the estate value; Disadvantage: no ability to use the first death's NRB against property on first death; no protection of children from first relationship; no care fee protection; (2) TENANTS IN COMMON WITH LIFE INTEREST TRUST — MORE FLEXIBLE: the deceased's 50% share goes into an IPDI life interest trust for the surviving spouse, with capital passing to children on the second death. The RNRB is used against each death (since the property or its interest eventually passes to direct descendants at both deaths). The first death's NRB is available against other assets (not typically the property, due to IPDI treatment). The life tenant's own 50% is still in their estate. Estate equalisation: if one spouse has a much larger estate, putting assets (including the property share) into a trust on the first death can reduce the taxable estate at the second death; (3) WHEN TENANTS IN COMMON PLANNING IS MOST VALUABLE: (a) Second marriage or blended family; (b) Estates above £1 million where every NRB/RNRB matters; (c) Care fee planning (partial); (d) Estates near the RNRB taper threshold (£2m); (4) PRACTICAL STEPS: consult an estate planning solicitor to model both scenarios with actual estate values; sever the joint tenancy and simultaneously update the will to include the life interest trust. These must be done before one partner dies — survivorship on death without a prior severance locks the survivor into sole ownership; (5) UNMARRIED COUPLES: for cohabiting partners, there is no spouse exemption. The deceased's tenants in common share passing to an unmarried partner is a taxable PET. Cohabiting couples should seek specialist advice — both the will and the ownership structure matter.

This is one of the most commonly asked questions — and the answer is more limited than many people believe: (1) THE BASIC PROBLEM: if you need residential care, the local authority assesses your assets (capital means test). Currently (2026), if you have capital over £23,250 in England, you self-fund your care. Property you own is included at current market value — minus your share of any outstanding mortgage; (2) JOINT TENANTS: if you jointly own the family home as joint tenants and your partner still lives in it, the property is disregarded from the means test entirely while a partner, spouse, or qualifying dependent (certain relatives) lives in it. On surviving spouse/partner's death, if the home passes to children (no one living there), there is no disregard; (3) TENANTS IN COMMON AND LIFE INTEREST TRUST: if you sever the joint tenancy and leave your 50% share in a life interest trust on your death, the life tenant's INTEREST (the right to live in the property) is assessed, but the trust CAPITAL (your share) may not be included in the surviving life tenant's means test — because the life tenant does not own the capital, only an interest. However: (a) local authorities are aware of this planning and will scrutinise the timing. If the severance and trust were created when care was already foreseeable, they may treat it as deliberate deprivation; (b) the life tenant's OWN 50% share is fully assessable; (c) even if the planning is upheld, the surviving partner eventually moving into care means their 50% is included; (4) DELIBERATE DEPRIVATION: local authorities can treat disposed or transferred assets as still owned by the applicant if the disposal was motivated (at least in part) by a desire to reduce care costs. There is no statutory time limit on how far back councils can look — unlike IHT where the 7-year rule applies. The risk is greatest when care is already anticipated and planning is done late; (5) REALISTIC CONCLUSION: life interest trust planning provides meaningful (but not total) protection when done many years in advance of any care need. It also delivers significant IHT and blended-family planning benefits that justify the structure independently of care fee planning. It is not a guaranteed care-home shield, and late-stage implementation carries significant risk. Always take specialist advice from a solicitor or certified financial planner experienced in care funding.