Finally made a Will, but....

Mojisola

You can keep your will safe at the Probate Service -
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetLeaflet.do?court_leaflets_id=1033 -
but you need to let your executors know so that they can get it when the time comes.

TBagpuss

So if one of you dies, there is nothing preventing the other from then changing their will and leaving eveything away from the children?

Sea_Shell

TBagpuss wrote: »

So if one of you dies, there is nothing preventing the other from then changing their will and leaving eveything away from the children?

Surely you can never stop that from happening. Everyone is entitled to re-write their will at any time as they see fit, regardless of what you might have agreed beforehand.

Unless you don't leave your spouse everything in the first place...but they might need that money to live on and provide for the children.

Brighty

Have you considered what happens if one of you dies and the surviving spouse then remarries? If they were to then die before their new spouse, your children could end up with nothing

Malthusian

Sea_Shell wrote: »

Surely you can never stop that from happening. Everyone is entitled to re-write their will at any time as they see fit, regardless of what you might have agreed beforehand.

Unless you don't leave your spouse everything in the first place...but they might need that money to live on and provide for the children.

Since the husband is at least mid-60s (member of a union for 45 years) it's quite possible that the children have grown up. Though that's only an educated guess.

Only the OP knows how likely this scenario is (one spouse dies, the other remarries and deliberately or otherwise disinherits the children). One way to be 100% certain that your current children will benefit from your assets, without impoverishing the spouse or risking a row, is to give them spare money while you are still alive. Safe, tax-efficient and you get the satisfaction of their gratitude while you are still there to appreciate it.