The Hard Truth

The truth about why free estate planning reviews exist

Right now, people all over the UK are being offered free estate planning reviews. It’s not a marketing gimmick — it’s because thousands of elderly homeowners are being forced to sell their homes to pay for care fees.

This is happening because they never put estate planning in place to protect their homes. It’s legal, it’s possible, and it’s been available for decades — but most people never even knew it existed until it was too late.

The real reason behind it

When Margaret Thatcher introduced the “Right to Buy” scheme, she gave working-class people a chance to own their homes — freeing them from rent and creating millions of proud new homeowners. But there was a catch.

At the same time, she famously said the NHS would look after people “from cradle to grave.” Many took that to mean elderly care would be covered too. It wasn’t. She knew social care wasn’t part of NHS care — and she also knew that decades later, the government would quietly profit billions by reclaiming those very same homes to pay for care.

It’s a brutal truth, but it’s what’s happening now.

Why it mainly affects the working class

We didn’t grow up talking about “estate planning.”
Our parents were renters, not landowners. We weren’t taught about wills, trusts, or protecting assets at school. Private schools taught wealthy children about these things because they’d one day inherit family estates.

For most of us, our “estate” is the home we worked a lifetime to buy — and nobody ever explained that it could legally be taken to pay for care.

Meanwhile, those from wealthier backgrounds had this knowledge passed down. Their homes are protected. Theirs stay in the family. Ours don’t.

The painful wake-up call

People are now watching their parents, friends, and neighbours lose everything they worked for.
The average cost of care in the UK is around £75,000 per year — and with no planning, the home is often the first thing sold to cover it.

It’s shocking, unfair, and heartbreaking. But it’s also completely legal — because the government allows it.

Protection is legal — but only before care is needed

You can absolutely protect your home from being included in a care fee assessment. There are legal tools and trust structures that do this properly.
However, if you try to protect your home after care is needed, it’s classed as Deliberate Deprivation of Assets — and the council can reverse it.

In simple terms: you can’t insure your car after you’ve had the crash.
Estate planning works the same way — it must be done in advance.

Why the government is now funding free reviews

The truth is out. For years, people said, “We didn’t know.”
Now, the government has acknowledged this problem — and rather than paying for everyone’s care, they’re instead funding advice.

They’ve started paying reputable estate planning firms to offer free or heavily subsidised video consultations for UK homeowners.
That means anyone — regardless of income — can now speak to a qualified estate planner for free and learn exactly how to protect their home.

⚠️ Important: The government is subsidising this initiative until January 2026, allowing homeowners to access these reviews at no cost.

There are no excuses left.
Everyone knows care isn’t covered by the NHS.
Everyone knows there are ways to protect a home.
And now, everyone knows they can find out how at no cost at all.

If people still ignore the warnings and don’t take the advice, they will have to face the consequences later — because now we all know better.

Why most people still don’t act

Two reasons:

They think it’s too expensive. Many assume legal advice costs £160+ per hour, so they put it off. But these free reviews exist to remove that barrier.
They think it won’t happen to them. Until it does — and then it’s too late.

It’s tough to hear, but if you need care one day and lose your home, you can’t claim you weren’t warned. The information is out there. The advice is available. The reviews are free.

You can legally protect your home and your family’s inheritance, but it must be done before care is needed.
You can’t complain about losing your home if you were given every opportunity to prevent it — for free — and chose not to act.

It’s time to stop pretending we don’t know and start taking responsibility for what we’ve built.
Our parents worked their entire lives for these homes. The least we can do is make sure they stay in the family — not handed back to the council.

Get your free estate planning review

If you’re a UK homeowner, you can now book a free online consultation with reputable estate planners. It costs nothing, there’s no obligation, and it could save your home.