Wanting my children to inherit - not a new wife?

cici71

I posted here a week or so ago but then i wasn't too sure what i needed to do/ask. I do now!
I own my home, in my name only. I'm due to get married and need to change my will. We've been together 10yrs so it's not that i don't want him to inherit. My issue is....if i die, my husband cld later re-marry, she cld be 30 then that person then has a stake in the house, my children cld not only wait for ever to get inheritance but also get less. Should i leave the house 50/50 to my children? Simple will. That way if he re-married, co-habits they can say it's time to sell. Otherwise, i understand i can leave the house to all 3 but pay hundreds for a clause that states 'specified terms etc'.

Yorkshireman99

cici71 wrote: »

I posted here a week or so ago but then i wasn't too sure what i needed to do/ask. I do now!
I own my home, in my name only. I'm due to get married and need to change my will. We've been together 10yrs so it's not that i don't want him to inherit. My issue is....if i die, my husband cld later re-marry, she cld be 30 then that person then has a stake in the house, my children cld not only wait for ever to get inheritance but also get less. Should i leave the house 50/50 to my children? Simple will. That way if he re-married, co-habits they can say it's time to sell. Otherwise, i understand i can leave the house to all 3 but pay hundreds for a clause that states 'specified terms etc'.

The only way to do it properly is to go and get it done by a solicitor. It should not cost more than £200 at most and you can be sure your wishes are carried out. Don't use a will writer under any circumstances.

cici71

Hi Yorkshireman99 - the company is BBH legal who can supply me with a free will due to me being a Unison member. I did mention I was advised to use a solicitor rather than a will writing service and they assured me that theirs is not a will writing service but clauses etc would be extra. My local solicitor was charging me £200 for a simple will so goodness knows how much if i want clauses.
So am i right in thinking that even if you are married - if you state your children inherit 50/50, they do?

Mojisola

cici71 wrote: »

Otherwise, i understand i can leave the house to all 3 but pay hundreds for a clause that states 'specified terms etc'.

cici71 wrote: »

I did mention I was advised to use a solicitor rather than a will writing service and they assured me that theirs is not a will writing service but clauses etc would be extra.

My local solicitor was charging me £200 for a simple will so goodness knows how much if i want clauses.

The solicitor's price should be for the completed will - check with them. Whatever 'clauses' are needed are part of the will and you shouldn't be charged extra!

Yorkshireman99

cici71 wrote: »

Hi Yorkshireman99 - the company is BBH legal who can supply me with a free will due to me being a Unison member. I did mention I was advised to use a solicitor rather than a will writing service and they assured me that theirs is not a will writing service but clauses etc would be extra. My local solicitor was charging me £200 for a simple will so goodness knows how much if i want clauses.
So am i right in thinking that even if you are married - if you state your children inherit 50/50, they do?

BBH is effectively a will writing service that charges extra for aqll sorts of things. Not a good deal. Solicitor will charge a flat rate for providing a will and giving you proper advice. £200 is a top figure since may do it for less. My advice remains do not use a will writer.

TBagpuss

I agree with Yorkshireman.

A will leaving a share of property to a spouse and a share to children is not unusual or particualrly complex. I'd suggest that you ring a couple of other local solicitors, ask them what they charge for wills and take it from there.

£200 is not very much to ensure that your wife and children end up with the share of your house that you want them to have

Newly_retired

You need to get this done properly or your children could end up with nothing at all, under certain circumstances. A solicitor will listen to what you want to achieve and word the will appropriately, not just insert "clauses".

ladymarmalade222

We have just had our will done in exactly the same way you described. There is wording saying it cannot be changed.

A local solicitor did ours for £90+vat so do shop around. I was amazed at how quick and simple it was.

Good luck.

Xx

Savvy_Sue

A decent solicitor should go through all the 'what if' scenarios with you, and plan accordingly. I suspect a will-writer would expect you to instruct them as to what you wanted to achieve without them having to ask those 'what if' questions.

For example, one poster on here has specified that if she dies before her DH, he can stay in the house for 10 years after her death, before it passes to her children. There may be provisions for if he marries or cohabits prior to that. You might not want to set a time limit, just what happens if he marries or cohabits.

One thing to think about is what if he wants to downsize or move away: how easy will it be for him to do that? Can he only use 'his' share of the house price, or can he use more of the capital if he needs it?

cici71

Really good advice, thank you all. I will check cost of a couple others but will use a solicitor. I do love a freebie but I think where my will is concerned, I shld pay up.
TBagPuss - I'm a lady by the way :rotfl:

getmore4less

If you leave any to hubby the kids could run into issues.

A trust where the kids are the final beneficiaries but hubby get an interest while alive and single or some other trigger may be better.

That assumes he has no beneficial interest claim now or in the future.