Money Moral Dilemma: Should we change our wills following our daughter's death?

MSE_Kelvin

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

My husband and I have mirror wills, with the second of us to die leaving our estate to be split between our two daughters and their children. Our eldest is married, has two sons, and owns her home outright, and we stipulated 30% to her and 10% to each son. Our youngest was a single parent with one son, and was renting, and we stipulated 40% to her and 10% to her son - she sadly passed away last year, so her son now stands to inherit 50%. But would it be fairer to change our wills to leave 25% each for our daughter and our grandsons?

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Brie

Only you can decide what is fair.  Does your remaining daughter want/need your money?  What about her children compared to the other grandchild?  Maybe you should consider 1/3 to each child.  

And of course you are assuming that there will be money to leave - there's few guarantees in life and money is no exception.

Spendless

Tbh and accepting everyone is entitled to leave what they want to whom in a wish, I've no idea why you did different shares to your 2 daughters in the first place which seems to have split 50%  to each side according to how many children they had themselves. That your eldest had her own house shouldn't have come into it IMO, what if she found herself in totally different situation later on in life and you hadn't updated your will? 

What I would do is change you will  to leave your remaining daughter 50% and share the remaining 50% equally between all 3 grandchildren so each receive 16.66% each.   

Pollycat

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

My husband and I have mirror wills, with the second of us to die leaving our estate to be split between our two daughters and their children. Our eldest is married, has two sons, and owns her home outright, and we stipulated 30% to her and 10% to each son. Our youngest was a single parent with one son, and was renting, and we stipulated 40% to her and 10% to her son - she sadly passed away last year, so her son now stands to inherit 50%. But would it be fairer to change our wills to leave 25% each for our daughter and our grandsons?

Fairer to whom?

Marcon

What happens if you or your husband dies and then remarries?

Spendless

Marcon said:

What happens if you or your husband dies and then remarries?

As marriage invalidates a will (at least in England unsure about anywhere else) then you either have to go and make another or accept the rules of intestacy kick in. 

Marcon

Spendless said:

Marcon said:

What happens if you or your husband dies and then remarries?

As marriage invalidates a will (at least in England unsure about anywhere else) then you either have to go and make another or accept the rules of intestacy kick in. 

Quite - but it opens a whole new set of scenarios which OP doesn't seem to have considered (so too does divorce, come to that!).

I should have said 'if the survivor remarries' since marriage beyond the grave doesn't count on earth!

gothvixen

My Mum's will leaves equal fixed amounts to her 3 grandsons, with whatever is left to be split equally between myself and my brother. I would stipulate the % to go to your daughter, and equal shares of the rest to each grandson. It would be very wrong to allow one grandson to receive more than the other 2, and his aunt. It was unfair for one daughter to receive more than the other anyway.

msb1234

The grandson of your deceased daughter will not have the benefit of any potential inheritance from his mother. What about his father? However, your other grandchildren will probably have their parent’s inheritance. I’d split it 50/50 to your daughter and your deceased daughter’s child. 

Cambsmum

The original plan was half each to your 2 daughters with part of their half going to their children? Why change that? Seams unfair that your surviving daughter and her children get a bigger share. You could argue that the grandchild who has lost a mother needs more. 

ClaraSais

Don’t have much advice but just wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss x