Children outliving their parents – what it might mean for you
25 November 2025
In this guest blog, Grant Notman from Kept Assets Limited explores an important topic – children outliving their parents and what it might mean for you
Generally speaking, I think most of us expect to outlive our parents.
The average age when women are having their first child is slowly rising, with an estimated 25% of women having their first child over 35 years of age.
Statistically, this means that children born to these women are likely to be in their 50s when their mothers pass away; of course, later-born siblings will be younger.
Statistics also indicate that fathers are becoming older when they have their first child, and still, men are dying at an earlier age than women. All of this means that the chances of a child (all be it an adult child) outliving its parents at an earlier age are increasing.
Some research indicates that people with learning disabilities die at an earlier age than the rest of the population but with the increasing age of parenting generally, this means there is now a much higher chance that these children, to,o will outlive their parents.
As a Bloodline Planner, I provide estate planning services (Wills, Trusts, Lasting Power of Attorney and Probate) to families who wish to keep their assets in their bloodline.
We are getting an increasing number of people approaching us to discuss Trusts for the protection and management of assets on behalf of their vulnerable adult children who may not have the ability to do this themselves.
The situation for many people is that they die and leave assets through their Will in Trust for their children, where they are hoping and expecting that their children will manage the assets themselves, to achieve the maximum benefit from them.
For some families, however, those with vulnerable dependents, realise that being able to manage these Trusts is not something their children will be able to do, and therefore, these families need an alternative plan.
In the construction of a Trust, you need to appoint Trustees who will be responsible (legally) for managing the assets so that the Beneficiaries (the people the money is for) get the best value and the most protection the Trust can offer.
These people can be family members, but do need to be younger than the parents (practical reason here, they need to live longer than the parents). The Trustees need to be over 18 years of age and have full mental capacity. If there is any doubt about anyone’s mental capacity, then we will use the industry standard “Banks v Goodfellow test” if we are still in doubt, then we will employ a professional Capacity testing company to make the final assessment.
We feel it is important to have some family connection in the Trustees, as this will deliver a more human and personal aspect to the planning.
Of course, there is a range of professionals who can be used, and we normally suggest that one professional Trustee is involved. We suggest this because generally there is some activity in the Trust when the parents die, and then often no activity at all for 10 – 20 years. During this time, it is possible that legislation or taxes could be changed and affect some aspects of the Trust and what you can do with the funds, and it is the Professional’s job to make sure the other Trustees are aware of this prior to making and decisions about the funds in the Trust.
Funds inside the Trust are generally cash, but it is possible to have property or land within a Trust, because often the Trust is used to invest on behalf of the Beneficiaries so that it can generate an income for them to live off.
Another key aspect to a Trust is that the funds inside the Trust are for the benefit of the people named, but they are not owned by them. What this means is that if the Beneficiaries are means tested to allow them to gain government benefits, anything inside the Trust is not counted for these purposes.
Whilst all of this may sound complicated and confusing, that is potentially because you are hearing it for the first time. We pride ourselves in taking the time to make you comfortable with the information you need to know to select the right planning for your family. We will work with you to implement the plan your family needs, then highlight to you the tools we have to allow you to be guided through the use of the planning when we are not in the room.
If you would like to know more about how this works in your specific circumstances, then contact Grant for a no obligation consultation about your family’s needs.
I am also offering a 10% discount on my work if you are connected with Minstead Trust as a parent/carer, volunteer or staff member.
Grant Notman
07768181302