Is it fair to leave my house and money only to my granddaughter as my son has fallen out with me.

Keep_pedalling

Dawn_flower said:

I thank everyone for their comments which have helped me make decisions.  I am definitely going to help my granddaughter get on the property ladder because it will give me a lot of pleasure see her get settled while I amm still here.  It also gives me an opportunity to help her learn to budget the amount I give her to see her complete her dream.  I am going to grant some money to my son with an explanation why it is not 50%.  I still don’t know what to do about my house because my son’s home is a rental but my granddaughter will be paying for her own house.  My son has no means to purchase a property and this could be his only chance to own a property.   I know he doesn’t deserve it but I still care. 

it rarely a good idea to leave a specific property in your will as there is a risk that you may no longer own it on your death and therefore accidentally disinherit someone.

For example Joan has an estate of £400k made up of a £200k house and £200 in savings with a will that leaves the house to Fred and the remainder to Freda. 

Joan looses mental capacity and moves into care, the house is sold, and after a a year she dies leaving £330k in cash which all goes to Freda because Fred’s bequest fails because the house no longer forms part of Joan’s estate.

Alternatively the testator stays at home and burns through all her savings on a live in carer, so Fred inherits a house and Freda gets nothing. 

Dawn_flower

So what should I do to ensure my wishes are kept in relation to my house?

Spendless

Dawn_flower said:

So what should I do to ensure my wishes are kept in relation to my house?

Why do you need to include your house in your will? Cant you just put you wish to leave your estate as 70% granddaughter, 30% other/s or whatever %  to your beneficaries that you wish?

Mine and my husband's wills dont mention our house. They just say who are beneficiaries are and the shares (percentages) we're leaving them. My parents wills are the same. My Grandmother that I inherited from was the same which was just as well as her property had been sold several years earlier to pay care home fees. 

Keep_pedalling

Dawn_flower said:

So what should I do to ensure my wishes are kept in relation to my house?

As above split it as a percentage overall.

poseidon1

Dawn_flower said:

So what should I do to ensure my wishes are kept in relation to my house?

You are getting far too hung up on the house and how it should be dealt with in your will.

  As indicated in my earlier post your will should merely state:

' Any home I may own at death, to be held on trust for sale on behalf of my residuary beneficiaries in the following shares....'

As previously advised the beneficiaries then have  the right to a percentage of the house sale proceeds ( as specified by you) rather than a share in the house.

All this will be explained by a solicitor drafting your will, all you need to decide is percentage split ( if any ) between the beneficiaries of your choice. 

jem16

Dawn_flower said:

So what should I do to ensure my wishes are kept in relation to my house?

Is it that you specifically want to leave him the actual house rather than money that he may or may not use to buy a house? You mentioned earlier that you think it’s the only way he would ever own his own house. 

Dawn_flower

You are all right, I am too concerned about my house and it’s for sentimentality reasons only.  I now know that I will just specify percentages in my will which will include the house.  I do want to leave things to others, friends and other family members which I will mention individually such as some jewellery and small amounts, including some charities. So I am very grateful to everyone for their help, it has clarified a lot of things and answered all the questions that I had, including the dilemma about leaving less to my estranged son.  Thank you all very much.