Will - excluding a child

Ravenlady_2

You could leave the child are more nominal sum of £500-1000 or so which would harder to contest as it would be seen as a more reasonable amount to leave a child that you have had no relationship with.

Leaving £1 just sounds very petty and spiteful however leaving a bit more would show that some thought has been spared and assets divided proportionately on circumstances.

The bio child of the couple would get a larger sum as the assets would have been built up between his father and his mother.

19lottie82

pauletruth wrote: »

its it the childs fault that the husband and the childs mothers relationship failed. no its not. what happens if his current relationship fails do's he write the new child out too. whos fault is it that he has no contact with the child. sorry but it is bad enough that his first child has been ignored but now he wants to rub their nose in the fact that they mean less than his second child. it maybe legal to do so but its not morally right.

They aren't asking about the morality of the issue, just the legalities

WhiteHorse

In these cases it used to be traditional to leave the person concerned sixpence. This confirmed that they had not been overlooked and that the intention was to leave them nothing else.

The principle still holds good in England and Wales, but check with a solicitor that there are no other valid grounds for a challenge.

Mojisola

If the child is still a minor, the father will have to leave whatever he would have paid as maintenance - or reasonable compensation if that's not feasible - until his son/daughter reaches 18 otherwise the child could challenge the will.

willquery

Ravenlady wrote: »

The bio child of the couple would get a larger sum as the assets would have been built up between his father and his mother.

This sums it up 100%. Majority of money is from the Wife.

princessdreamer

I would challenge any will left that excluded my children (well they would IYSWIM), all children should be treated equally by BOTH parents.

Mojisola

WhiteHorse wrote: »

In these cases it used to be traditional to leave the person concerned sixpence. This confirmed that they had not been overlooked and that the intention was to leave them nothing else.

The principle still holds good in England and Wales, but check with a solicitor that there are no other valid grounds for a challenge.

This is okay where non-dependent adults are concerned. It would not stop a child who has been receiving maintenance challenging the will.

Mojisola

princessdreamer wrote: »

I would challenge any will left that excluded my children (well they would IYSWIM), all children should be treated equally by BOTH parents.

In England and Wales, people can leave their money to whoever they want. There is no principle of "fairness".

jackyann

OP has his reasons. If the child is still of an age to need maintenance, then they are not of an age to have caused any ill-feeling, other than inadvertently.
So however you sort this legally (and it does sound as if you need proper advice) I would like to suggest that you leave the child a letter with your explanation. Whatever has gone on with the child's mother, the child themselves will need this for their self-esteem.

Example: a family I know of had an adopted child who received a large sum of money from birth relatives. Adopted grandparents left him a nominal sum & keepsakes only, explaining that they wanted to "even up".

Nicki

willquery wrote: »

This sums it up 100%. Majority of money is from the Wife.

In which case, don't blend assets while living. Child can only claim against dad's estate not his wife's assets. Wife should write her will to leave husband a life interest in her money, remainder to her child. Job done!