Inheritance rights - spousal

Reed_Richards

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82144624#Comment_82144624

Be it a trust or a will, the OP has no implicit "spousal rights". Any rights she might have would be explicitly given in the terms of that trust.

poseidon1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82144760#Comment_82144760

Which is the unknown factor without sight of the trust document.

However, given the additional information about the mother in law's presence in a nursing home, once her personal funds are exhausted it appears recourse may need to be made to the trust fund.

However such recourse, may well under the terms of the trust be limited to just the income of the trust with capital released only if the two brothers ( as remaindermen) choose to sacrifice their interests in that capital, for their mother's benefit.

If OP's husband has passed away before that point, knowing exactly what the trust sets out on his pre mature death would be helpful to the OP, now we are aware there are no children of their marriage.

If her husband is directly involved in the administration and maintenance of the trust asset (which appears to be the case ) , that certainly implies a trustee function so it is somewhat mystifying he does appear to have had a copy of the relevant trust document.

This certainly would give the OP clarity with regard to whether she as any conditional spousal entitlements reserved under the terms of the trust in the event her husband predeceases his mother.

Cubicsrube

OP, don't draw false certainty about your own circumstances from others' stories. Poseidon has explained that only the trust document can give you the answer you're looking for. What other people did or didn't receive under various wills has no bearing on your situation.

Do you live in the property/land in question? If so, it seems even more urgent that you find out what is set out in the Trust doc and start planning for whatever eventuality it dictates. You really need to have this conversation with your husband. Not an easy one, I know. Wishing you the best.

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82144574#Comment_82144574

This seems so harsh to me. (and I know no-one has a right to expect an inheritance, but generally you know the financial situation of your family) .

A couple, expecting that they both outlive their parents, with tight finances, manage their finances on the expectation of an inheritance that could mean that they could eg clear their mortgage. They then face a difficult situation by one of the couple dying prematurely meaning that the family home, owned for decades, needs to be sold and the remaining widow(er) struggles to find somewhere to live. Meanwhile their offspring or siblings-in-law inherit far sooner or more than anyone could have expected.

I know of one case of a race to the death (or life) between a mother and her daughter, where the mother was near the end of life without capacity (so no will change possible) the daughter also sadly dying. The daughter needing to outlive the mother by 30 days in order to inherit. Arguments about end of life care in order to satisfy those 30 days. Horrendous situation.

Reed_Richards

I agree, @silvercar , but's that the way the law works at present. The problem arises because people don't anticipate such circumstances when writing their wills and I suppose the people drafting the wills don't prompt them to think about it.