What happens if we die
Batman2017
Posts: 134 Forumite
Me and my wife are expecting our first baby, once the baby is born i'm concerned about what would happen to our assets if me and my wife were to both die at the same time unexpectedly. Would our assets safely pass to our child or are there risks involved?
Thank you
Thank you
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Comments
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Its entirely dependant on if you have a will, if you dont usually it goes to the state who then search for living relatives and split that way.0
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Figure what you want to happen & make a Will being very clear about that.
Do please tell whomever you want to be Guardian about your decision ahead of time?!0 -
The only way to ensure that what happens should you both die at the same time is what you wish to happen, is to prepare your wills now.
It really is quite a simple process and one that will give you the peace of mind that all will be as you intend should the unthinkable happen.
You can visit a solicitor if you wish, or take advantage of some of the "free will" days which some charities and organisations offer in return for a donation. Alternately you can draft your wills yourself; they will be legal provided they are correctly witnessed. There's a great deal of help and advice on this online should you wish to go down this route.
It's great that you're considering this now; be sure to follow up and put your wishes properly in place before little one arrives.
Congratulations on your impending arrival.0 -
Congratulations on your potential new arrival.
Yes, definitely time to do the grown up things now!
1. Decide who you want to look after your children if you both died in an accident
2. Make a will naming your guardians and make sure you make provision in your will for any further children you might have. If you don,t appoint a guardian it could end up with two sets of grandparents or other relatives squabbling or even Social Services stepping in. Your solicitor will suggest how best to handle finances and inheritance if a guardianship situation arises.
3. Never too early to think about you and your wife getting powers of attorney for each other too so that's if one of you is incapacitated by an accident or long term illness you can act for each other. There are two versions: property and financial affairs and ahealrh & welfare. The first one is probably the most important. Read up about it on the Office of Public Guardian website.
4. And have you got life insurance so that if something happens to you your wife and child are financially looked after. You may already get life insurance cover with your pension arrangement but check !0 -
bengalknights wrote: »Its entirely dependant on if you have a will, if you dont usually it goes to the state who then search for living relatives and split that way.
No, it only goes to the state if there are no living relatives. In this scenario it would all go to the child, but without a will appointing trustees it would be potentially quite restrictive about how the money could be invested, what could be used while the child was still a minor, and looked after it on the child's behalf.
OP, it would be sensible for you both to make wills. You can think about who you would want your baby to live with if you both died, who you would want to look after your assets for the baby, while they were growing up (this can be more than one person, and doesn't have to be the same person as the child lives with)
also think about how you would want to arrange things if one of you dies.
You may want to consider whether you need to review your insurance arrangements - for instance, if one of you died, could the other manage financially, taking into account the loss of earnings and/or the sudden need for a lot of extra child care?All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0 -
In case, you have only 1 child, all of your assets will be belong to your child.0
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I think that with children involved it is even more important to update your will. I would certainly suggest a personal review (as in no legal input) annually. But that is supposing that you fully understand what your will says! If nothing else you need to check that any guardian is still able, willing & suitable to be a guardian. Your opinions may well change over the years as you see how your chosen guardian interacts with children in their care.0
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One thing nobody thinks about is "your stuff". Some faceless stranger could clear the house ... binning treasures and documents. You might wish to make a list of specific documents/items of note that have no value. e.g. "The box contains the christening gown .... handmade by aunt mabel, who has since died". Stuff that any children might wish to receive in the future.
A box with some old baby clothes in would probably go straight in the bin otherwise.
Ask anybody who lost their parents at any age up to teens what they have got of their childhood/home - and the answer is that they are usually whisked away with a suitcase of clothes packed by somebody else, never to return.0 -
When a husband and wife tragically die in say an airline accident or a car accident and it is not possible medically to establish who survived the other, then it is commonly understood by the general law (Section 184 of the Law of Property Act 1925) that the spouse who is the younger of the two who have died is deemed to have survived the elder. The position where this unfortunate set of circumstances occurs is different when a Will has been made by both the deceased parties. Where a Will has been made by both of the deceased parties then the rule of the younger surviving the elder prevails. Thus if the husband is the elder of the two the estate will pass under the terms of his Will (often to the surviving spouse) and then the estate will be distributed in accordance with the wife’s Will in this example. Of course this can be the same if the wife dies first and is the elder.
The position is materially different if given the tragic accident where both parties die and are married but both are intestate i.e. they have not made a Will at the date of their death. The rule that the elder survives the younger is not imposed. If it is not possible given these circumstances to establish who survived then neither spouse will take an interest in the estate of the other i.e. the husband’s property on death will fall to go to his children or other relatives and the spouse will likewise devolve her property to her children.0
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