Wills and stepkids etc

Seanymph

I've been thinking about this - I know, I need to get out more.

I actually have become even more divorced from the consensus having spent time thinking about it - no one has a 'right' to inherit anything. Anyone should be free from expectation about where they will leave their hard earned cash, and completely free to choose, I don't like the sense that people are 'entitled' purely based on who they are related to.

I know in France you don't get a choice, but in the UK (and Scotland) you can choose who you leave money to and who you don't, and so you should.

Presumably the wife gets the pension residue, any life insurances, the house - all unencumbered.

To be honest if the OP wants to leave HIS money (as opposed to THEIR money) to the cats home then I think it's entirely up to him.

Sea_Shell

Spinning this around...

If, as an adult, my parent had remarried and I'd never been part of their household, I would not expect to inherit a bean from my stepparent.

If I had a younger sibling who had been part of the household and was treated like "one of their own" then I wouldn't have a problem with them inheriting something.

However they may think differently. Talking is the best option here.

comeandgo

Seanymph wrote: »

I've been thinking about this - I know, I need to get out more.

I actually have become even more divorced from the consensus having spent time thinking about it - no one has a 'right' to inherit anything. Anyone should be free from expectation about where they will leave their hard earned cash, and completely free to choose, I don't like the sense that people are 'entitled' purely based on who they are related to.

I know in France you don't get a choice, but in the UK (and Scotland) you can choose who you leave money to and who you don't, and so you should.


In Scotland your children always have a right to a share of moveable assets.

maman

Although we don't know the full story (why doesn't OP's wife work?), my concern was that she would have her fair share of marital assets.

What either party chooses to do with their share going forward is their choice.

ska_lover

I think we need more info op like Maman says

The main one for me, being, Why does your wife not work / financially contribute? & how did she come into the marriage with nothing? Does she have a disability of some kind?

It would help to know this

unholyangel

Seanymph wrote: »

I know in France you don't get a choice, but in the UK (and Scotland) you can choose who you leave money to and who you don't, and so you should.

As comeandgo says, in scotland you can't disinherit your children - or a surviving spouse. That was why I advised OP to get an initial consultation first to be advised on legal & prior rights. Prior rights would only apply if there was no valid will and it was being distributed under the rules of succession. Legal rights apply whether there is a valid will or not. They will also apply before any bequests so they need to be in consideration when writing a scottish will as fulfilling legal right may mean the legacy fails.

However, they can't benefit from both a legacy & legal right. They would need to choose.

So, if a surviving spouse and children then the spouse is entitled to a third of the movable estate and the children are collectively entitled to a third.
If a surviving spouse and no children, then the spouse is entitled to half of the movable estate.
If no surviving spouse and children then the children are collectively entitled to half of the movable estate.

Children are (as above) biological (including illegitimate) and legally adopted but not stepchildren.
Movable estate is pretty much everything else except property/land.

silvercar

"no one has a 'right' to inherit anything. "

I agree, but do people have the right to be considered equally? Just because someone was born earlier and so didn't need parenting by a parent's spouse is that justification for leaving siblings with unequal amounts?

PasturesNew

help50 wrote: »

I started off thinking my estate should be split between my wife and my own 3 kids

And if you leave it like that then you keep it simple.

Your "half" to your kids.
Her "half" to her and she can pass it onto her kids.

If you go first though, your "half" needs to be locked away so she can continue to live there and/or even move house "with the value of the whole money".

If she goes first then her "half" you'd then split between her kids as you see fit.

Trying to blur the lines with so many kids, in unequal portions, just complicates it.

maman

ska_lover wrote: »

I think we need more info op like Maman says

The main one for me, being, Why does your wife not work / financially contribute? & how did she come into the marriage with nothing? Does she have a disability of some kind?

It would help to know this

Exactly so. Normally, I find myself sticking up for men being used as a meal ticket but here I'm confused and concerned that the wife has her fair share.


I'm not arguing between children and step children. For me, it's not about whether OP wants to leave his assets eventually to his own children. That's fair enough. But I believe that his wife should be able to first, claim her share of the marital assets, and leave them to her own children too.

maman

PasturesNew wrote: »

And if you leave it like that then you keep it simple.

Your "half" to your kids.
Her "half" to her and she can pass it onto her kids.

If you go first though, your "half" needs to be locked away so she can continue to live there and/or even move house "with the value of the whole money".

If she goes first then her "half" you'd then split between her kids as you see fit.

Trying to blur the lines with so many kids, in unequal portions, just complicates it.

I'm glad you stressed this because OP's original post seemed to imply that all the estate was his when they're marital assets to be shared.