How to notify possible beneficiaries?

Shezzy1

Hi, my husband has 2 children. One from a previous marriage who has nothing to do with him and we have no idea where she lives or her married name. He has another daughter whom he had when he was 16yrs old (now 60) who he has never seen. He has a first name but not a last name. He is not named on her birth certificate. How do we notify these children that they will benefit from an estate on his death? Thank you. 

[Deleted User]

I wouldn't.

Plans and wills change and there's no need to tell them in advance, so I would leave it to the executors to deal with at the time.

But there's nothing to stop you gathering together any information that will help them when the time comes.

TBagpuss

I agree. 

If he wants to try to find them and find out if they are interested in getting to know him, then approach it from that angle and don't say anything about any possible legacy.

Although he wasn't named on the first child's birth certificate, presumably he knows the mother's name and the date (or approximate date) of birth, so he would be able to lookup the original birth certificate which would give the name she was registered under. If he thinks she may have been adopted then it would be much harder to find her (and she would not be entitled under ay intestacy)

If he wants to leave them anything in a will then there's no need to tell them in advance, and if he's leaving his estate to them because he has no other family then this is a case where appointing a solicitor as executors and providing them with any information he has , would make sense. They can use a researcher to track down the beneficiaries when the time comes and the costs will come out of the estate. He can also if he wants, do a bit of research himself - many people, for instance, put an announcement in their local paper when they get married,   for instance, so googling  the 'child's' full name at birth plus 'marriage' may well bring up hits. 

It also avoids raising false hopes if he changes his mind, or if he doesn't have anything to leave when the time comes. At60 he could be around for another 30 years and a lot could happen in that time! 

xylophone

Your husband is only 60 - while it is wise for him to make a will if he has not done so, he could still be in the land of the living in 2061!

 If he knows  the surname of the mother of the child born in 1976, he might try a search here
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78321137/#Comment_78321137
He might even be able to trace a later marriage for the child's mother.

If he is still able to contact his ex wife or her relations, he may be able to access some information as to his daughter's whereabouts?

getmore4less

Shezzy1 said:

Hi, my husband has 2 children. One from a previous marriage who has nothing to do with him and we have no idea where she lives or her married name. He has another daughter whom he had when he was 16yrs old (now 60) who he has never seen. He has a first name but not a last name. He is not named on her birth certificate. How do we notify these children that they will benefit from an estate on his death? Thank you. 

Does he want to leave them anything?

If not make a will.

If yes then make a will as it could cause issues if intestate

BooJewels

If I may play devil's advocate - as I know of a situation where it happened, with painful consequences.  If the daughters have nothing to do with their biological father and he is unfamiliar with their current circumstances - is there not a massive potential to cause an upset in the future?  

For example - some years down the line, a solicitor contacts the daughters to advise that they've inherited from their biological father - but they didn't know that the man who married their mother wasn't just that.  Now they've suddenly found out about something that might have better staying unknown.  It's worth bearing in mind that the consequences of such decisions can be further reaching than just legal and financial - even when all you want to do is the right thing.

Keep_pedalling

getmore4less said:

Shezzy1 said:

Hi, my husband has 2 children. One from a previous marriage who has nothing to do with him and we have no idea where she lives or her married name. He has another daughter whom he had when he was 16yrs old (now 60) who he has never seen. He has a first name but not a last name. He is not named on her birth certificate. How do we notify these children that they will benefit from an estate on his death? Thank you. 

Does he want to leave them anything?

If not make a will.

If yes then make a will as it could cause issues if intestate

Frankly it would be idiotic of him not to make a will. 

Mojisola

Shezzy1 said:

Hi, my husband has 2 children. One from a previous marriage who has nothing to do with him and we have no idea where she lives or her married name. He has another daughter whom he had when he was 16yrs old (now 60) who he has never seen.

Why does he want to leave money to these strangers?

If he doesn't have any other relatives or friends who would appreciate being left a legacy, there are plenty of good local charities who would make great use of gift in his will.