Beneficiary Divorce Protection
Their divorce should not cost your family. Leave an inheritance that stays in the bloodline.
The problem with leaving money outright
An inheritance left directly to your son or daughter becomes their own property the moment they receive it. If they later divorce, it forms part of the pot a court can look at and divide. The same is true if they are made bankrupt, or if they are receiving means-tested support that a lump sum would interrupt.
Most parents are not trying to control what their children do with an inheritance. They simply do not want half of it leaving the family because of someone else’s divorce.
How a trust changes the position
Instead of leaving a share outright, your Will leaves it to a trust for that beneficiary. They can benefit from it, but they do not own it, and there is nothing in their name for a former spouse to claim a share of.
- Divorce — the fund is not the beneficiary’s asset to be divided.
- Bankruptcy — it does not form part of their estate in insolvency.
- Remarriage after your death — the capital stays on the line of descent you chose.
- Vulnerable or disabled beneficiaries — the fund can support them without disturbing means-tested benefits. See Vulnerable Beneficiary Trusts.
Being straight about the limits
A trust makes an inheritance materially harder to reach, and in most cases it is treated as a resource available to a beneficiary rather than an asset the court can simply divide. It is not an absolute shield. A court can take a trust into account when deciding what is fair overall, and in some circumstances a nuptial settlement can be varied.
It also has to be set up before it is needed. Once a divorce is in prospect, or a beneficiary is already in difficulty, it is too late for this to help — and a transfer made at that point invites exactly the scrutiny you were trying to avoid.
Who you appoint as trustees matters more than the wording. We will talk that through with you, and we encourage naming replacements so a change in someone’s circumstances never leaves a gap.
This is usually built into a Protective Will Trust rather than bought separately. See Property Protection, Will Trusts and our prices.
Start with a free review
Bring us the family picture as it actually is, and we will tell you whether a trust is worth it in your case. There is no charge and no obligation, and we confirm a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.