Getting married soon, need help on financial implications please

Retireinten

The key questions  I would have regarding this scenario are:

How wildy different are your financial assets?  If your property, savings, pensions and other investments = £800k and your partners = £300k then after a reasonable time married expect the courts to split these assets 50/50 if you divorce.  So the person going into the marriage with the greater financial assets stands to lose a good chunk of money. A pre nup might help but there's no guarantees.  


Children... do either of you have any?  And what would you want to happen to your assets on your death?   The main asset of my mother in law's second marriage (both previous partners died) is a property. But they have biological and step children in the mix and no interest in getting a will.  The one biological child of her husband I would say she has a difficult relationship with... yet if she werr to die first (quite likely due to ill health) her assets would pass to her husband and in turn all his assets would pass to his son.  Her children would essentially get nothing, dispute her first husband contributing to her share of her assets.  And obviously this works the other way too! 


And what advantages is it you are trying to achieve through a marriage? I married for love way back in the olden times (as daughter calls it) but back then we were young and had no financial assets.  If I were to find myself single again I would not marry someone unless they had comparable financial assets and I could protect my children's future inheritance in full.  So probably easier not to get married.

wannabe_a_saver

You can't really stay financially independent from each other if you get married.  Married couples are automatically assumed to be a household so you will no be considered one household with two properties.  You will be considered as one household for any benefits claims or for any financial assessments relating to care costs in the future. 

I'm all in favour of couples who live together getting married for practical/financial reasons, but for couples who don't live together it doesn't make much sense. 

Keep_pedalling

pphillips said:

It's not just tax advantages to marriage but there can also be some tax disadvantages, like the additional 3% SDLT that you'll need to pay if you want to move home. The tax system expects married couples to live together.

They would only pay that if bought a new home and did not sell one of existing ones. That applies regardless of marital status. 

wannabe_a_saver

Keep_pedalling said:

pphillips said:

It's not just tax advantages to marriage but there can also be some tax disadvantages, like the additional 3% SDLT that you'll need to pay if you want to move home. The tax system expects married couples to live together.

They would only pay that if bought a new home and did not sell one of existing ones. That applies regardless of marital status. 

It would apply if either one of them moved, even if the other stayed put, as married couples are assumed to live together. 

TBagpuss

Soledad19 said:

Thank you, that's very helpful. I know from friends that some countries in Europe ask you to choose between the option of sharing what you had before the marriage or keep it separate, and this choice has to be made before the ceremony and is an integral part of it. I take it UK law has none of this?

Would you happen to know where we can find reliable but not extortionate legal advice to draft such agreement?
Thanks again.

England doesn't, no. Pre-Nups are covered by cases law, rather than statutory law.

In terms of advice, I'd suggest that you look at  https://resolution.org.uk/find-a-law-professional/ and look for solicitors near you, then give them a call. Many family lawyers offer a free initial consultation and would be able to give you an idea of what the costs might be, although these will vary depending on how complex your agreement is. 

ripplyuk

wannabe_a_saver said:

You will be considered as one household for any benefits claims or for any financial assessments relating to care costs in the future. 

I don’t believe that’s true. I think you have to be living together ‘as if you are married’ for benefits purposes. I have a friend who’s separated from her husband but still very much married and she doesn’t look to be in any rush to divorce (it’s been 8yrs now!). She was entitled to benefits as a single mother and her husband’s income was not taken into account. In fact, they didn’t ask any details except to confirm that she is separated. 

sassyblue

You've left it far too late. If you have a pre nup it has to be all finished and signed at least 6 weeks before the wedding day. 

we used to get quite a few calls hoping one could be drawn up a week or two before the wedding. 

sheramber

ripplyuk said:

wannabe_a_saver said:

You will be considered as one household for any benefits claims or for any financial assessments relating to care costs in the future. 

I don’t believe that’s true. I think you have to be living together ‘as if you are married’ for benefits purposes. I have a friend who’s separated from her husband but still very much married and she doesn’t look to be in any rush to divorce (it’s been 8yrs now!). She was entitled to benefits as a single mother and her husband’s income was not taken into account. In fact, they didn’t ask any details except to confirm that she is separated. 

But the OP  would not be separated, she would be married.

Tokmon

Soledad19 said:

We didn't know MSE forum was about judgement and morality, I thought it was about practical advice and sharing expertise, silly us!

We would strongly advise anyone to read carefully our words before replying, as anything can be said except that we're getting married for tax reasons. Stick to the spirit of our question please, and keep your judgements for yourself, nobody requested that, especially if you can't read properly or mis-interpret our query.

Many thanks.

I don't understand why you want to get married?

Getting married legally means all your assets are shared so i would never get married in your situation where you don't want to live together and want to keep your finances separate because it's the complete opposite. 

BrassicWoman

I can only think of employer's widow/ers pension and death in service benefit as a reason to do this.

Wouldn't work with my employer as you have to be of the same address.