Care home fees are a big worry for many older people and unscrupulous companies are preying on these concerns.

At VWV, we recently received a call from the son of a 78-year-old woman who had been contacted by a firm calling itself an "estate planning company". The caller offered to set up a discretionary trust for her and transfer ownership of her house to her sons. If she had to move into a care home, she would not be regarded as owning her own home and therefore would not be required to sell the property to pay for the fees.

Eight things you should bear in mind

• It is illegal to deprive yourself of assets to avoid care home fees. Transferring ownership of your house to family members will not necessarily achieve this.

• Be wary of anyone who calls you out of the blue and wants to talk to you about making a will or setting up a trust.

• The more complex your affairs are, the more worth while it is getting a legally qualified person to draft a will for you.

• Will there be any inheritance tax to pay when you die? If so, consider getting legal advice to talk about your options.

• Signing and witnessing a will is important and if done incorrectly can invalidate a will in its entirety.

• If you die without a will, specific legal rules will automatically apply. They determine who will get what from your estate, which may well be contrary to your wishes.

• Review your will regularly to take account of changes to your family circumstances and personal estates or changes to the law.

• Think about where you are going to store your will once it is signed. Most solicitor firms, including VWV, offer a will storage service.

- Megan Seabourne is a partner at award-winning law firm VWV