getting married

RNewton

Not sure if I have posted in the correct place. 

I have a mortgage on a property, have about £100k in equity. I live with my partner & 18 year old daughter. 

Mortgage is in my sole name. Purchased pre-partner. My Will leaves everything to my daughter. 

I know a Will would be invalidated if I marry. Partner & I want to marry. 

I’m not sure how to go about sorting out my Will. I have no life cover on the property due to severe Mental Health issues, which meant I couldn’t get cover...

Partner is worried that if we marry people would think he is basically writing daughter out of her inheritance.

I don’t know how I could, when married arrange my Will for my daughter to have somewhere to live but for neither of them to be homeless. 

What would be the best answer? 

74jax

Yes when you marry, if you don't write a will your partner would inherit (to a limit) under intestacy rules.
When I married I wrote a will leaving everything I owned to my daughter but that my husband could live in the property for no more than 5 years (so he didn't have the immidiate upheaval but also that my daughter had an idea if when she would get the house). 
Just work out who you want to get what, and make a will accordingly. 

RNewton

That’s my issue I think; I’m not really sure what it is that I would want. 

Mojisola

RNewton said:

That’s my issue I think; I’m not really sure what it is that I would want. 

You can divide your estate up however you want - it doesn't have to go all to your husband-to-be or all to your daughter.

You can also revise it and make changes and things change in the future.

pphillips

Do you want your husband to be able to live in your home?
If so, you can write a new will after you marry leaving your husband a lifetime interest in the property.

gettingtheresometime

I have no idea (& don't need to know as it's none of my business) but you may need to think what happens if you (god forbid) were to die & there was still an outstanding amount on the mortgage.

now it may be that you've got a death in service benefit that could potentially cover the outstanding mortgage but then the question has to be asked is the beneficiary of that DIS the same person as who would inherit the house. 

In addition to that there's a whole minefield of questions that only a solicitor can give you advice on....if you gave your partner a lifetime interest would it be for a set time or until some other condition came into play? What about if the house was no longer suitable for his needs? Would you expect / want him to walk away with nothing?

as already been said it's not a case of one person inherits it all but I think you have to think about what you'd feel happiest with 

RNewton

I have death in service benefits, yes. That’s a big worry too but unfortunately one I can’t really do much about. I can’t find a company to provide me with cover. 

I did have mortgage cover previously but it was going to pay all to my daughter’s father & was not something I could just change. 

74jax

RNewton said:

That’s my issue I think; I’m not really sure what it is that I would want. 

If you do nothing, as you can't decide, do this short government 'quiz/test'
Are you happy with the outcome? If so write a will to this effect. If not, write a will with what you do want. 
What is it stopping you deciding? Your will can cover many options, for example my widow has the property for 5 years but if he remarries then he must move out so my daughter has the house/her inheritance. You can add in who must maintain the property etc, 
Who have you directed your death in service to? When I married I had to fill out the form again for my daughter as it would have automatically gone to my husband on marriage. 

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

MovingForwards

When did you last try to obtain life cover and how did you go about it?
With MH if there's a certain amount of time between an 'episode' then everything is stable, meds are working etc you can probably get cover. This is where a really good broker would be so worth using, rather than a restricted broker or trying pot luck with companies.

You need to think about your will and how to have it drafted so you are happy with it.
- leave your partner a life interest in the property, he maintains it, dies / goes into a home then it's your daughter's. He can also sell and buy a more suitable home, if that's written into the will.
- allow him so many years in the property before he starts over and your daughter has the home.
- leave it straight to your daughter and he starts over.
- If either or both were to pass before you, what would you want to happen to your estate?

A lot depends on your ages. You are (probably) at least 38, so potentially your partner would have another 40 years living in the home before it passed to your daughter. By that time she is all settled, living in her own home etc.

Can either or both partner / daughter afford to raise a mortgage to pay the outstanding mortgage to own as they wish?

Also think about your partner's income, does he earn enough to buy somewhere himself?

Does he already have a beneficial interest in the property due to contributing to it's upkeep or the mortgage or some other reason? 

Only if you leave the home to your partner, not including your daughter, will she be 'cut out the will'. Same as if you marry and die without making a will, depending on the size of your estate.

Also, even if you agree with your partner that he leaves his it to your daughter on his death, there is no guarantee a year down the line he won't have a new will which isn't favourable to your daughter, whether you are still around or not. They can be changed / updated throughout your life as long as you have capacity. They remain confidential, unless you tell / show someone, until you die.

If you leave your partner out of your will, he could potentially make a claim on the estate.

A good solicitor will talk through all options, give you time to think and decide, before preparing the draft will for you to review and have any changes made. When happy with everything, then another appointment to sign it. I would also expect it to be reasonably priced (£200, depending on where you are) as it's straightforward.

It's a lot to think about, a lot to read up on, but gives you peace of mind knowing what will happen when it happens.