Trusts vs wills: which do you need?
They are not alternatives. Almost everyone needs a will; some people need a will that contains a trust; comparatively few need a lifetime trust.
The short answer
- A will says who gets what when you die. A trust holds assets for someone under rules you set.
- They are not either/or — the most common arrangement for ordinary families is a will containing a trust.
- A will costs £150–£400; wills with a trust £500–£2,000; lifetime trusts more, plus ongoing administration.
- A trust earns its keep for care-fee protection, second marriages, vulnerable beneficiaries and controlling timing.
- If none of those apply, a well-drafted will is enough, and buying a trust is buying paperwork.
What's on this page
Side by side#
| Will | Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Takes effect | On death | Immediately (lifetime) or on death (will trust) |
| Who controls assets | You, until death; then executors | Trustees |
| Public after death | Yes, once probate is granted | No, though HMRC registration is required |
| Typical cost | £150–£400 | £500–£2,000 within a will; more standalone |
| Ongoing admin | None | Accounts, HMRC registration, possible tax returns |
| Protects from care fees | Only via a trust inside it | Yes, in the right circumstances |
| Controls what happens after the survivor dies | No | Yes |
| Everyone needs one | Effectively yes | No |
What only a will can do#
- Appoint executors to administer your estate.
- Appoint guardians for children under 18.
- Dispose of everything you own at death, including assets acquired after it was written.
- Create a trust in the first place, if that is the route you take.
A trust cannot do any of these. This is why "I have a trust so I do not need a will" is wrong, and occasionally disastrous.
What only a trust can do#
- Ring-fence a share of the home from a survivor's care means test — see property protection trusts.
- Control what happens on the second death. Leave everything to your spouse outright and their later will decides; a life interest trust means yours does.
- Hold assets for someone who should not receive them outright — a beneficiary who is disabled, on means-tested benefits, in debt, or 18 and unready.
- Stagger inheritance over time rather than in one lump.
- Keep assets outside a beneficiary's own estate, away from their divorce or creditors.
The decision, honestly#
Write down the specific problem you are trying to solve. If you cannot state it in one sentence — "I want my children to get my half of the house even if my wife remarries" — you probably do not need a trust. Trusts solve named problems. They are poor general-purpose purchases.
| Your situation | Usually the answer |
|---|---|
| Married, one home, everything to each other then the children | Mirror wills |
| Couple who own a home, worried about care fees | Wills with a property protection trust |
| Second marriage, children from a first | Life interest trust in the will |
| Disabled or vulnerable beneficiary | Discretionary or disabled person's trust |
| Children too young to inherit outright | Trust in the will, with an age condition |
| Estate comfortably over £1,000,000 | Advice — lifetime gifting first, trusts if justified |
| Simple estate, straightforward family | A will. Nothing more. |
The myth that causes most of the confusion#
A lot of estate-planning marketing in the UK is borrowed wholesale from the United States, where avoiding probate is a genuinely large financial issue and living trusts are a mainstream consumer product. Neither is true here.
English probate costs £300 to apply for and is administratively tedious rather than ruinous. A revocable living trust of the American kind solves a problem we largely do not have — while importing tax charges and registration duties that we very much do. If a sales pitch leans heavily on "avoiding probate", ask what the actual saving is in pounds. Usually it is the £300 fee.
The costs to weigh#
A trust is not a one-off purchase. Budget for trustee time, possible professional fees, HMRC registration and upkeep, tax returns where there is income, and the friction of needing trustees involved whenever a property is sold. Set that against what the trust actually protects. For a couple protecting roughly half a £400,000 home, the maths is straightforward. For a small estate with no care-fee exposure, it is not.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need a will if I have a trust?
Yes, always. A trust cannot appoint executors or guardians, and it only covers assets actually transferred into it. Anything left outside falls under your will — or, if you have not made one, under the intestacy rules.
Does a trust avoid probate?
Assets already held in a lifetime trust do not form part of your estate, so they pass without probate. Assets in a will trust do not escape probate, because they pass through your estate to get there. Probate avoidance is a much bigger selling point in the United States than it is here — English probate is comparatively cheap at £300.
Is a trust more private than a will?
Yes. A will becomes a public document once probate is granted, and anyone can order a copy. A trust deed is not published, though trustees must register with HMRC and that register is accessible to law enforcement and people with a legitimate interest.
Can I set up a trust myself?
Technically yes, but this is one place where DIY is a false economy. Trust drafting determines the tax treatment, whether the £175,000 residence allowance survives, and whether the protection works at all. A badly drafted trust can cost more than it saves, and the error usually surfaces years later when nobody can fix it.
This is general information, not legal advice. Everyone's situation is different — speak to a qualified adviser before acting. KeepTheLot is an independent information service covering England & Wales. We are not a law firm.
Part of our guide to trusts.