Protecting Your Property and Wealth Under Andy Burnham’s Social Care Reform:

The Role of Trusts

The U.K. political landscape is undergoing a massive shift regarding how we fund and structure elderly support.

With Prime Minister Andy Burnham pushing for sweeping overhauls to fix a social care system he has famously likened to "as unfair as American healthcare," homeowners are increasingly anxious about preserving their lifetime savings and housing equity.  

Burnham’s mission to stop families from having to sell their homes to pay for catastrophic care bills has reignited national conversations about wealth, property, and asset protection.

For property owners looking to shield their estates from being eroded by care fees or future asset-based levies, understanding the strategic use of Trusts has never been more critical. 

The Social Care Dilemma: Why Property Owners Are Worried

Under the current system, individuals in England with assets exceeding £23,250—typically driven by the value of their family home—receive little to no state help for social care. This forces hundreds of thousands of families to liquidate real estate holdings just to cover soaring care home fees.  

While Burnham has pledged to build a fairer, integrated care model that protects a greater share of personal wealth and moves away from the "postcode lottery" of aging, structural changes take time.

Because Burnham’s broader philosophy targets wealth and property assets—ranging from potential proportional property taxes to wider funding mechanisms—homeowners are actively looking for legal mechanisms to secure their legacies. This is where Trusts enter the conversation.  

How Trusts Can Help Protect Property

A Trust is a legal arrangement where you transfer ownership of your property to Trustees, who manage it for the benefit of chosen beneficiaries (such as your children or grandchildren). When it comes to social care planning and estate preservation, certain types of Trusts are frequently evaluated:

1. Protective Property Life Interest Trusts (PPLITs)

Usually set up within a Will, PPLITs allow a surviving spouse or partner to continue living in the family home after the first partner passes away and because they only own a share or a "life interest" rather than the whole property outright, that portion of the property's value can be ring-fenced. This prevents the entire asset from being automatically swallowed up if the surviving partner later requires residential care.

2. Discretionary Trusts

With a Discretionary Trust, the property is placed under the control of Trustees for a group of potential beneficiaries. Because no single individual has an absolute right to the capital, and if set up correctly, Local Authorities assessing an individual's capital for care funding will view the assets differently. However, lit is important to not break the rules surrounding deliberate deprivation of assets.

If you are considering putting your property into a Trust we will assist you in understanding the legal boundaries set by Local Authorities, so you do not make any mistakes or errors.

If a council believes you intentionally gave away your home or placed it in a Trust specifically to avoid paying for future care fees—especially if you were already in poor health or knew care was likely needed—they can treat you as if you still own the property. This means they can still factor its value into your care assessment or seek to overturn the transfer.

Timing and genuine estate planning intent are everything. Setting up protective measures long before care becomes a foreseeable necessity is crucial.

Steps to Take Forward

Navigating property protection alongside evolving national reforms requires a careful, professional approach and we are experts in providing advice, guidance and the implementation of successful strategies for the protection of our clients and have been for many years now.

Give us a call, FREE on 0800 668 11 64 to arrange a consultation with our Trust specialist so that you can be 100% aware of what you can do, what you can't and the fees involved in  setting up an estate plan to protect your family's inheritance.