Getting Married and Keeping a Council House

Ames

boliston wrote: »

Why would the house be "half hers" if her name is not on the land registry records?

Because that's what the marriage contract means.

Lily-Rose_3

boliston wrote: »

Why would the house be "half hers" if her name is not on the land registry records?

Mojisola wrote: »

As soon as they get married, she will entitled to inherit from him.

If he doesn't have a will, the intestacy laws will apply. She's in for a good windfall.

Ames wrote: »

Because that's what the marriage contract means.

What Mojisola and Ames said. ^^^ Can't believe someone didn't know this! :eek:

If ever you get married boliston, anything your own - ANYTHING - becomes the property of your wife also. (If there is not a will.)

If there is a will, and he has 'willed' everything to his kids, I don't know whether she could contest it. I am sure someone can enlighten us on what would happen, and whether the wife could contest it...

Normally though, everything does go to the spouse I am sure (if there isn't a will.)

Mojisola

Lily-Rose wrote: »

Normally though, everything does go to the spouse I am sure (if there isn't a will.)

Not everything - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/relationships/death-and-wills/who-can-inherit-if-there-is-no-will-the-rules-of-intestacy/

If a spouse's will disinherits their spouse, it can indeed be challenged - the expectation in law is that the widow/widower will be provided for in a will.

PasturesNew

He is old enough to make his own choices... but by God I'd create merry hell if this were my dad as I'd make the assumption she was "after my inheritance" by spending his money now and pocketing "my" £500k house once he'd died.



She'd not get to keep her housing benefit though - but never mind, dad will end up paying that.... and it might still come to tears as the Council might deem that she's not using it as her primary residence and take it off her ... thus ensuring she "stole" "my" £500k house inheritance.

I'd be down that road right now seeing her off and calling my dad a "delusional old bugg4h"



I would.... harsh, but I would.

Pollycat

orpington_shark wrote: »

His partner lives in a council house with her 15year old son. She doesn't work and is on benefits.


My dad believes that they can get married, and that his partner can keep her council house and all the housing benefits etc. She would spend half the time living with him, and half living at her own home (which is only about 4 miles away, not the other end of the country).

And what will happen to the 15 year old when his Mum spends 3 or 4 nights in a different house?
Is the plan that he will also spend that time in your father's house?
What amount of disruption will that be for a lad who will be in the middle of his GCSEs?

Or will he stay in the council house on his own? (Please say this is not the plan)

paddy's_mum

So many harsh "obviously" comments in this thread. Cynical though I am by nature, my own experiences in life have taught me a few things and a major one is that people marry for all kinds of reasons other than love.

Some marry for financial gain, some to alleviate current or future loneliness, or fear of being sick and enfeebled all alone, some for the pleasures of the bed or the kitchen/dinner table, some for the status of spouse (as in any slightly pejorative notion perhaps attached by others to Ms or single) some because they don't want the government or the local cat's home to get it, some simply because they need someone to latch their affection and emotional safety onto....

I'd also add that my own husband was very reluctant indeed to settle for anything less than marriage. As he said, living together went against his slightly old-fashioned expectation of romance and life. "Well, you went out with a few girls, then you found one you wanted to be with, went steady, got engaged and then got married..." and I can entirely understand that his background and upbringing led him to believe that this is what normal folk do. The fact that times had moved on didn't cut much ice

As for "seeing her off" (sorry PasturesNew!) but how unjust and unfair and vindictive since the OP does not know the lady friend nor her strengths and nor, it would appear, whether it's her father pursuing the woman for any of the sound, practical reasons mentioned above.

I was labelled 'gold-digger' 14 years ago but here I am, still caring for my husband, still paying my own way and still putting in more of my own money than I shall ever get out even if I inherited the whole kit-and-caboodle!

Sometimes, especially for the older person, marriage for reasons OTHER than love is absolutely the right thing to do :A

Pollycat

PasturesNew wrote: »

He is old enough to make his own choices... but by God I'd create merry hell if this were my dad as I'd make the assumption she was "after my inheritance" by spending his money now and pocketing "my" £500k house once he'd died.

I'm not sure if this is tongue-in-cheek but in reality nobody has an inheritance until the person with money/property dies and leaves those assets to a specific person.

So the £500k house and £100k savings are not really the OP's inheritance at this stage.

And in fairness, in the first post the OP didn't mention concern about whatever his/her father might leave on his death and has since said that the money is not an issue.

Lily-Rose_3

PasturesNew wrote: »

He is old enough to make his own choices... but by God I'd create merry hell if this were my dad as I'd make the assumption she was "after my inheritance" by spending his money now and pocketing "my" £500k house once he'd died.

She'd not get to keep her housing benefit though - but never mind, dad will end up paying that.... and it might still come to tears as the Council might deem that she's not using it as her primary residence and take it off her ... thus ensuring she "stole" "my" £500k house inheritance.

I'd be down that road right now seeing her off and calling my dad a "delusional old bugg4h"

I would.... harsh, but I would.

I'm assuming you're being serious, because there is nothing to suggest you're not.

"She is after my inheritance" is a heck of an entitled-to attitude. How do you know your father is even planning on leaving everything to you? And why do you think you deserve it?

And if you were the OP, you would 'see the new wife-to-be off' WTH? :huh: Maybe this woman makes him happy? Have you thought of that?

Unfortunately, if the OP's father decides to leave everything to his new wife, it's got nothing to do with her, and there is very little she could do about it. Same if your father did the same!

Pollycat wrote: »

I'm not sure if this is tongue-in-cheek but in reality nobody has an inheritance until the person with money/property dies and leaves those assets to a specific person. So the £500k house and £100k savings are not really the OP's inheritance at this stage.

And in fairness, in the first post the OP didn't mention concern about whatever his/her father might leave on his death and has since said that the money is not an issue.

This ^

paddy's_mum wrote: »

So many harsh "obviously" comments in this thread. Cynical though I am by nature, my own experiences in life have taught me a few things and a major one is that people marry for all kinds of reasons other than love.

As for "seeing her off" (sorry PasturesNew!) but how unjust and unfair and vindictive since the OP does not know the lady friend nor her strengths and nor, it would appear, whether it's her father pursuing the woman for any of the sound, practical reasons mentioned above.

I was labelled 'gold-digger' 14 years ago but here I am, still caring for my husband, still paying my own way and still putting in more of my own money than I shall ever get out even if I inherited the whole kit-and-caboodle!

Sometimes, especially for the older person, marriage for reasons OTHER than love is absolutely the right thing to do :A

This too. ^ :T

Savvy_Sue

Sometimes it's hard to get through to an elderly parent (even a not-so-elderly parent!) that their ideas are wrong - sometimes morally, sometimes factually incorrect.

So, the OP's Dad is factually incorrect if he believes that his lady friend (let's call her Freda) can marry him, retain her own tenancy, AND keep claiming HB and any other means-tested benefits. And in the OP's position, I might be keeping an eye on the local paper and 'just noticing' any stories about fraudulent benefit claims, and drawing them to his attention.

But perhaps more usefully I'd be asking "does Freda know that's what you're planning to do?" at regular intervals. Followed by "and what does Freda's son Fred think?"

If it were possible, I might also want to make sure that Freda is aware of Dad's plans and expectations. She might be as ignorant as he is of how means-tested benefits work after marriage. Or she may be blithely assuming that Dad will start picking up all the bills, even if she retains her council tenancy, or she may be completely ignorant of his idea that she stays put and just visits for half the week. Her plans may be quite different!

And Fred is obviously an added complication ...

Obviously I don't know how easy it would be to get this conversation going: some adult children react really really badly to new relationships so Freda may be wary of the OP to begin with. But it sounds like a conversation worth having ... if it's possible.

And I would understand if Freda didn't want to give up her tenancy. If she moved out altogether then she would, I believe, have to do so, and I am not sure what might trigger an investigation from the local council if they suspected she wasn't living there any more.

worried_jim

elsien wrote: »

Has he also thought what it might be like to be sharing a house with a hormonal 15 year old who may not be thrilled at the idea of an 82 year old stepdad?

Doing the dirty with his Mum! Much P taking at school and relentless "your Mum" jokes. Maybe she plans to leave him in the council house.