Marrying again and unsure who inherits my house

My mother died before her second DH and her flat was in her name. The second DH contributed nothing to the running costs and was basically a kept man.

In her will my mother left the flat and all her assets to her children but he was allowed to live there for the rest of his life and use everything in the flat provided that he insured the contents, paid all the bills and didn't re-marry. We are now (7 years later) at the stage where he is leaving the flat to move into a care home.

Lessons learned if you are planning to do likewise:

1. Provide for your children to make an inventory of what is left in the flat after your death. Then you will know if any of it is removed before your children are able to inherit it.

2. Provide for your children to have a right of access to remove any personal items belonging to you which he cannot use (eg clothes, jewellery, handbags and documents relating to you, not him) at any time after your death. Specify what such items can include.

3. Provide for your children to be informed beforehand if any of the items left for his use are removed or disposed of. A wardrobe full of my mother's stuff was cleared without us knowing or being given the opportunity to see if there was anything we wanted.

4. Ensure you have a right of access by spelling this out in the will, perhaps with 24 hours' notice for a routine visit or without notice if there is an emergency. My sisters and I are effectively banned from entering the flat, which is ridiculous and wrong.

5. Check the position on inheritance tax (IHT). HMRC would not charge us IHT because we had no benefit from owning the flat but I have heard that the value of the flat when vacated will go into the second DH's estate when he dies and we will then have to pay it. I am hoping (and praying) that we can benefit from the new Residence Nil Rate Band if it can stretch to the first death.

6. Warn your children about this possible bill (if there will be one) after you have got advice.

I hope this helps.

If you have assets you must get a proper Will drawn up by a solicitor, not a home-made diy effort.

Some of you have wrongly assumed that by not getting married to your live-in partner or making a proper Will, your children will automatically inherit your estate but it’s really not that cut and dried.

It doesn’t cost that much to ensure peace of mind and I think it’s unkind to just leave your adult children to muddle through the intestacy process.

Just get it done!!!

Get legal advise BEFORE the wedding

Anniel
cut and copy all the posts and paste to your word/pages
software
Then you can either email/text /print off for your daughter

Make a will. Make sure it is watertight. Add a written explanation about what you are doing and why. Go to a solicitor. Do not try to do it yourself. My DH was a solicitor. He always said they made more money sorting out affairs of those who didn't make wills or who had tried to do it themselves, than they ever did from actually helping people make their wills. Also make sure everyone knows what you have done and why. Also make someone close to you your Power of Attorney in case anything goes wrong or you become I'll.

I have read this thread with great interest. My daughter has lived with a man met on a dating site after her divorce. She has two adult children and has left her house to them in her will.
The man she lives with is about 15 years youngsr Than her. She is now nearly 67 but still has to work as this man has had long periods of unemployment, despite having a professional aualifjcation which would enable him to find a job quite easily.

As they have lived together. for over 15 years I am worried that her will could not protect her children’s inheritance although her Will leaves hef house to them equally. As I am quite ancient she will inherit a third of my estate and I just wish I could stipulate that any of my personal possessions that she inherits are to go to my grandsons after my daughter dies. My daughters partner is not an evil type but seems to dislike going to work! Is there any way I can save this thread asi would like her to read it (except for my post:!

When my husband died, after nearly 60 years of marriage I could never have contemplated remarrying, being so old, but I do sympathise with those who want to protect their child’s inheritance, while realising a partner can be left homeless!

I did think of leaving my daughters share of my property money etc. Equally shared with my two grandsons and even discussed it with my daughter, but she was furious that I should even suggest it!
Dying is a nightmare and we all want to be fair to our families, but I see a minefield ahead but do want to protect my grandsons inheritance and I did not know existing wills were null and void on remarriage which is why I am asking how to save this thread!
Excuses for any typos!

Yes, my second husband and I lived in a rented property and then I inherited some money and we bought outright a new home. My will states that my OH should have use of the property as long as he needs it if he should outlive me and then it will go to my children, not his.

In Scotland marriage does NOT invalidate a will
That's true, but the old will still stands. So if your ex was due to inherit the house (or anything else), he still would.
As everyone is saying, make a new will

notnan you’re wrong again

Talk to a solicitor about putting your property into trust with your children as beneficiaries and husband has a right to live there. Specify treasured family items in your will in case husband remarries and new wife won’t let your children have them ( yes, a friend can’t even have her childhood photos).

Sorry pressed post before I finished, the court case cost thousands which I ended up paying a substantial amount out of my mothers house after her death and we also have a loan from it as even though we won the case, unbeknown to me the winners have to pay towards costs! The stress has made me ill, my DM wouldn’t like to know how I’ll it’s made me feel.

Totally agree with JonesKPjooo, I’ve just finished fighting a court case on behalf of my mother where she married my stepfather (who we now realise was after her property that my own father and mother bought outright and on their divorce my dad signed it over to my mother). After quite a few years of marriage my stepfather decided he wanted my mum to sign her house over to himself, as he paid for the repairs over the years he reckoned, very long story made very short, he had kids he left when they were 3 and 4 but felt guilty so unbeknown to my mother and how he did it we don’t know but when he died (fortunately before my mum) we found out via his will that in 2003 he had fraudulently somehow got my mothers house put into his name 10 years ago, also in his will he’d left my mother nothing and left the house to his 2 children!! The mess has been awful, I was my mums POA and had to do everything for her Court wise etc and I feel very angry what turned out to be my mums last years I missed out on being angry that she married him, thought he was ‘lovely’ etc. So yes please make sure you tie it up very very tight with a good solicitor or put the house in your children’s names now with the understanding that it’s still yours if you wish to move etc.

You could legally put your house in your children`s name as it is owned outright.

You then have to pay them market rent for that to be a watertight "loophole"

My Uncle’s wife died, and a few years later, he remarried. After another couple of years, she divorced him and took half of everything. His only son inherited a lot less. Please talk to a solicitor before you remarry.

My OH and me have put an equal share into our property. Should one of us die the other has to sell up so our respective children (second marriage for both of us) can inherit their share. We discussed the possibility of the bereaved continuing to live in the house until death or moving, with our solicitor but when he explained all the potential pitfalls it made sense to do it this way. It may seem harsh to the one remaining but there could be so many problems the other way, not to mention a possible very long wait for our children to inherit. We could each afford somewhere small with the remaining monies fortunately so that is a consideration also. All our children are aware of this arrangement too so everyone is happy with it.

Make a will stipulating your children are to inherit the property. You may wish to consider your DH not being made homeless. This you can do by stating in the Will he is to be allowed to remain there with associates costs eg council tax, heating, just as if he was renting. You can also stimulate that if he wanted to move, say downsize, he can use the value of the property to do so but again any new property would be in the name of your children. If finds are left over from a sale they again go to your DC. DH will be responsibly for costs of moving. If long term care becomes necessary the house won't be DHs to consider an asset. Also would mention your DH would be entitled to a share of your moveable assets eg cash, that Renoir you have in the sitting room!

If you have a legally drawn up Will you can bequeathe to anyone you want (cats home etc.) - it can be contested but if it's clear it's harder to effectively challenge.

Definitely see a solicitor. When DH and I married (his second time, my first) our will after lots of thought and careful consideration. The surviving spouse inherits, but on their death the estate is split in two, half to his children, half to my nephews and nieces. This is what worked for us, but e solicitor was great and talked us through all the options. The will cost £195 which considering the amount of time we spent talking through the pros and cons with the solicitor represented good value for money and has given us peace of mind. Hope you find a solution that works for you

A potential legal minefield here: my advice is to be sure to get proper legal advice before you do anything!

You will both need to make newWills. We factored this into our wedding expenses. You may do this before the ceremony. Write down before you have the appointment what it is you want to achieve & any questions. You will have to return to sign said wills after they've been prepared - take time to read them first, even solicitors mis spell names! Instead of naming sums ours suggested using percentages which is sensible. A solicitor who is well versed in wills should be used. Most importantly let your beneficiaries know which firm holds your will. Beneficiaries can also be Executors. Solicitors may charge for this which will come out of your estate - ask. As others have said marriage invalidates all current wills. Don't forget to stipulate if for example you want your daughter to have your jewellery. Do not trust people to "do the right thing" after your demise. There are too many instances of this not being the case.

I live in my partners house and have always been concerned what will happen if he dies first , he has written a will leaving the property to his children but I am allowed to live in the property or sell it and buy somewhere else for as long as I live or wish to .

You could legally put your house in your children`s name as it is owned outright.
It cost her £200 for solicitors fees which I though was a bargain
And peace of mind is priceless.

If you already have a will this will become null & void as soon as you remarry.
You can of course leave your home to your own children. You do need to think about yoyr husband though...can he live in the home for a period of time following your death etc as he will need to be protected as well....get good advice from a person who specialises in this area

Do not marry him before taking legal advice. Things may have changed but when my husband’s father died, leaving his estate to my husband his only child, the fact he had married a week before his death made the Will null and void and he received absolutely nothing?
A former colleague was advised to secure her assets prior to her second marriage and her husband to be said ‘if you love me .....’ so she didn’t. When they subsequently divorced, he left her with numerous debts and nothing was left for her children.

I am thinking of doing the same thing but have been told of another possible prob.
If one partner lives a lot longer than the other the property could deteriorate and not be worth much for the family to inherit or the partner could spend a lot on upkeep which would not be fair on their beneficiaries . All very complicated !!!!