Can you disinherit unknown half-siblings?

Pandrea

My mum keeps on at me about my will.
She has made one which leaves everything to me, or if I'm gone, my son.
I've made one which leaves everything to my partner, failing him our son who is a toddler, failing them both, my mum (but she is 80 so most likely will go first).
My partner has left everything to me, then our son, then his elderly parents then his brother.
My father left us when i was a baby, moved to Australia and we had no contact, however word reached us that he died a few years ago. He seems to have had some children over there, I'm not clear if they were his own or stepchildren.
Anyway, my mum's got it in her head that if she dies, then me, my partner and son all die together (eg in a car crash?), all her money/house etc might go to these potential half-siblings, which makes her very upset.
If the people I love most are all dead in some extreme scenario, I don't really feel I care about the money, to be honest! But, I suppose i'd rather it be shared among my oldest friends or go to a good charity, than to some children of my father who I've never met. The only other relatives I have are some cousins, who I don't really know either.
-- So, is there something simple i can do to sort this out just in case? Would it be a case of getting a solicitor to enter a sentence stating "failing which, money goes to ..?"
-- And if my partner and I died simultaneously with our son (again, this is a horrible thought!), how would they decide if my money went to his estate first then subsequently to his brother, or his went to me then to whoever I would name?
(My partner's brother is a nice guy but filthy rich so our money would be a drop in the ocean to him, but mean a lot to some of my friends)
The whole topic is very morbid but I just want to get it settled to stop my mum dwelling on it. Any thoughts?

kwame41

Writing a Will allows you to leave your estate to whoever you want. Not writing one may result in people getting things you didnt want them to have.


Make a Will.

bouicca21

Was she married to your father and if so legally divorced ?

Maybe she should redo her will with a survivorship clause - if her designated heirs do not survive her by x days/months then the estate goes to the cats home ...

Pandrea

They were married, divorced and he remarried - is that still relevant if he has died?

Mojisola

Pandrea wrote: »

My father left us when i was a baby, moved to Australia and we had no contact, however word reached us that he died a few years ago. He seems to have had some children over there, I'm not clear if they were his own or stepchildren.

Anyway, my mum's got it in her head that if she dies, then me, my partner and son all die together (eg in a car crash?), all her money/house etc might go to these potential half-siblings, which makes her very upset.

Those children would have no claim on your mother's estate because they are not related to her by blood.

Pandrea

No, but if her stuff goes to me then I died?
I can't see how they'd even know, but I suppose some heir hunters might find them.

Mojisola

Pandrea wrote: »

No, but if her stuff goes to me then I died?

I can't see how they'd even know, but I suppose some heir hunters might find them.

If you leave a will covering the eventuality that you and all your close relations die at the same, they won't have any claim.

We have what I think of as a 'disaster' clause in our wills which divides our estate up if none of our close beneficiaries are around.

Mojisola

Pandrea wrote: »

-- And if my partner and I died simultaneously with our son (again, this is a horrible thought!), how would they decide if my money went to his estate first then subsequently to his brother, or his went to me then to whoever I would name?

Most wills have a survivorship clause which would state that, should your partner and son not survive you by, say, 28 days then their inheritance would fail and the next in line beneficiaries would benefit from your estate.

bouicca21

So he was no longer related to her, neither were any of his second family. They are related to you. So maybe it’s you and your partner who need the protection of a survivorship clause.

MovingForwards

Have a look at the intestacy rules as you will see where the estate will go if all beneficiaries pre-decease your mom.

No, her estate will not go to kids who are not hers as I assume your parents divorced before he went to Australia.

With wills drawn up by solicitors it's normally:

All my estate to X
If they predecease me it goes to Y
If they predecease me it's split equally between A, B and C or the survivor (s) of them.

With yours you want some of your estate held in trust for your kid, that means money can be used from it for the kids benefit.
You want the rest to go to your partner.
If your partner predeceases you, it goes to your kid
If they both predecease you it goes to your mom
If they all predecease you it goes to X

You want your partner to be named as guardian.
If your partner predeceases you, you name Y and Z to be guardians. You will probably want to leave them some of your estate to help cover expenses of raising your kid.

getmore4less

Do the intestate tree that helps see where the pitfalls are that you need to close off.

Survivorship clauses can have unintended results if not done carefully.