Testament question

linda_chan

My husband has three children from previous marriage. As we just bought our first house(my deposit - on trust) I started question myself. In case somethig happened to him do I automatically get everything or share goes to his kids. I do not mind but as deposit is mine I want to stay that way. can anybody help???

swampduck

You both need to make a will, preferably as soon as possible. It will put your mind at ease - knowing that everything has been sorted.

I had the same problem with my other half as we both have children from previous relationships - although we are not married - our wills have been written to take this into account so we dont have to re-write the wills if we do decide to get married.
It is perfectly reasonable if you have paid a deposit to be able to want to protect your investment- should anything happen to your partner.
Our solicitor told us that they make more money from people who dont make wills than those who do - because the vultures always come out when there is money to be had.
So protect your future and your partners' kids by coming to some agreement that suits all concerned.

Swampy

1012donna

I would agree with swamp. My mums friends live in partner died and as he had no will all his money and half of the house is going to his kids even though she paid the mortgage from her wages as he didn't work and the savings were hers (again from her wages) but in his name. Silly woman!!!

emilyt

Yes get that will sorted. At least you will have peace of mind you will know who gets what and it will stop any arguments. Believe me people get very nasty where money is concerned.

hobo28

As I understand it, if you've bought it normally (ie. Joint tenants) then upon his death, the house automatically goes to the other person. Ie. you. This is the same whether you were married, related or even just friends. If you bought it as "tenants in common" then his share will go to whoever he has defined in his will.

Now for his other assets I'm not sure and your best checking with a solicitor.

Hope that helps.

Janepig

My mum and auntie (sisters) were left my grans house after she died. They automatically assumed that should either one of them die then their half would go to either my dad or uncle. Anyway, my mum passed away before the house was sold, then two years later when my auntie and my dad came to sell the house - they were at the Solicitors to sign the contracts - it turned out that my mum and my auntie were "tenants in common" and therefore my mums share had passed to my auntie and my dad was entitled to zip!! Luckily my auntie was horrified by this and paid my dad the share that we all assumed he'd have got anyway, but I guess not all families would be this lucky to have no feuding or anything.

Jxxx

Paul_Murphy_4

Can anyone help me with advice on making a bogstandard family will. What is the easiest/cheapest/safest method. Of course I want to get it right so I will trade off a few £££ for the most reliable. I also want to persuade my wife to get her 86-year old father to make a will. His wife died years ago and the only family survivors are my wife and her brother. Neither of them seem bothered about persuading him to make a will as "what's the point, it will just be split 50/50 between us". Is it not the case that if he dies without making a will (intestate) there is more administrative hassle with the estate which means longer before you receive any monies, plus solicitors take a bigger cut for their work than they would have done if a will had been made?

Thanks!

Bossyboots

Janepig wrote:

My mum and auntie (sisters) were left my grans house after she died. They automatically assumed that should either one of them die then their half would go to either my dad or uncle. Anyway, my mum passed away before the house was sold, then two years later when my auntie and my dad came to sell the house - they were at the Solicitors to sign the contracts - it turned out that my mum and my auntie were "tenants in common" and therefore my mums share had passed to my auntie and my dad was entitled to zip!! Luckily my auntie was horrified by this and paid my dad the share that we all assumed he'd have got anyway, but I guess not all families would be this lucky to have no feuding or anything.

Jxxx

Actually that is wrong. If they were tenants in common your mum's share would have passed to her next of kin in accordance with intestacy rules. Therefore, they must have been joint tenants.

I have pointed out on here numerous times that a will is not a safeguard of inheritance. They can be changed at any time and as many times as you like. Only the most recent will can be used to govern the deceased's estate.

However, the OP states that her partner is her husband and therefore the first 125,000 of his estate passes to her anyway. If they are joint tenants his share of the property passes by survivorship to her. If they are tenants in common only £125,000 of its net value would pass to her. If the property is owned as TIC, a deed should have been drawn up to denote the passing back of the deposit from his share upon death or sale (what if you split up?).

In response to Paul Murphy, you do not need a solicitor to administer an estate. Your wife and/or her brother can do this (or in fact anyone else if they should choose to delegate). They would need Letters of Administration if there is no will but this is a relatively simple procedure. The golden rule of handling an estate is to avoid using a solicitor if you possible can as they take such a big chunk of the estate. If you are reasonably savvy and have some time, you can go it alone. The Probate Offices are usually very supportive and will help where they can. They cannot advise you on legal issues, but can explain things you don't understand. The Court Service website has all the information you need in the form of downloadable leaflets.

However, that said, it is simpler if there is a will as it cuts off at the pass people who come forward claiming they were promised x, y or z.

Justie

Paul_Murphy wrote:

Can anyone help me with advice on making a bogstandard family will. What is the easiest/cheapest/safest method. Of course I want to get it right so I will trade off a few £££ for the most reliable. I also want to persuade my wife to get her 86-year old father to make a will. His wife died years ago and the only family survivors are my wife and her brother. Neither of them seem bothered about persuading him to make a will as "what's the point, it will just be split 50/50 between us". Is it not the case that if he dies without making a will (intestate) there is more administrative hassle with the estate which means longer before you receive any monies, plus solicitors take a bigger cut for their work than they would have done if a will had been made?

Thanks!

my understanding is that there's no such thing as a 'bogstandard family will'. For a straight-forward will as a couple it would cost you about £150 to make a joint will at a solicitors and that's the only course I'd recommend. Unless you know what you're doing then doing the Will packs you can buy in shops can cause more problems than they solve.

Seanymph

Linda Chan I had this problem myself a couple of years ago.

There is a phrase that should anything happen to your partner he needs to have made, I think it's 'adequate provision' for his children. No matter what he's put in a will if his kids (or his ex!) don't consider it adequate provision they can challenge the will.

I solved the problem easily by taking out a life insurance on my then boyfriend for more than enough to cover any future maintenance payments until both girls were at least 18. I paid it, and put it in trust for his children - after all, it was for my piece of mind.......

I then knew that should anything happen to him, his children would be looked after financially and everything that I already had would be safe.

You may like to think about something like that to ensure that you have clear cut boundaries over what would happen - it also means he can then guilt free leave the house entirely to you in a will.