Son in law getting married.

Yes, their share of the value is secure, but he does need to write a new will when getting married, to avoid such a scenario as you describe should he die before her. Do you know if he has thought of this already?

My brother has taken (bought) a half share of his fiancee's house and they get married in a couple of months. They have a similar situation and are doing new wills. He has no children but she has two adult children who could really use the proceeds of a house sale if their mother died. He is 30 years older than her children, so the situation might not arise, but nevertheless they wanted to sort it out to ensure there is no bad feeling in future.

Hi whenim64

Even if the value is secure in the event of a divorce or our son in law passing away could our grandchildren force an immediate sale?.
They would probably not want to wait for years if they could not get the woman and possibly the children out of the house.

Marsh

It would depend on the wording of the will. My aunt lived in my grandmother's house until grandmother died, then the proceeds were shared and aunt bought herself a smaller house, so that worked ok. But....if aunt had wanted to stay, she could have, because the home made will didn't stipulate the house must be sold.

I don't know much about this but I believe that when you marry your will becomes invalid and you need to make another one.

I think this may be too big a question for GN, you need proper legal advice.

I am concerned that if I die first my DH will remarry and his new wife will outlive him and our children with get nothing because he is not very savvy about financial matters.

I think you are right AlisonMA that a marriage invalidates previous wills. Considering the value of the property it wold be drop in the ocean really to consult a lawyer - well worth the fee.

Agreed!

A marriage can't invalidate the fact that money is already in trust for his daughters. It isn't his to will to anyone. It's his half of the house that he needs to sort out when he marries. By marrying her, he automatically leaves his half to her when he dies, and his daughters will have the other half. If he doesn't make provision, the legal costs of forcing a sale will eat into their share, and they could struggle to get her to leave the house. The most sensible arrangement would be to free up the money in trust by buying a new home for him and his new wife.

Of course, if the house is mortgaged, they will only have half the accumulating equity in trust, which could be a small amount.

Hi whenim

There may be a problem in the fact that the trust may not allow the property to be sold or may not allow a future wife to live in the house without the consent of the grandchildren.
There is a problem with a house near me which is held in trust and the hospital wants to buy and demolish the house to build another ward.
The matter is going to court and I have no doubt something will have to be sorted out.
Difficulties could arise as the one grandchild will be a full 25% owner soon and may be in a position to block the sale or transfer of any of the house to another person.
This may not be unreasonable if he / she is looking at the house as being an investment.
Another problem which may happen is in the event of the son's death the wife may become a half owner with a right to live in the house and may even will her half to another man if she marries again and he may have the right to live there and he may outlive your grandchildren.
In view of the potential complications and the amount involved legal advice must be obtained at this stage.
It is almost impossible to answer the question without having sight of the truse deed etc.

Mark

Yes, there are several scenarios that could be played out in this situation if he doesn't take positive action.

I can understand a parent wanting to ensure their share of the estate goes to the children and not a future wife / husband.
Unfortunately I can not see a perfect solution however a will is written.
Certainly the parent has got to have powers to sell the house and substitute it with one of a similar value while they are still working as they may become redundant and may have to move to a different part of the country to find work.
Also it is OK to say the parent has the right to live in that house until he / she passes away but the house may become unsuitable as the parent ages and they may want to move to a different type of property and it can cause problems if the children will not give their consent for the property change.
Life is full of uncertainties and a will written now may not suit circumstances in a few years time.

Mark