can dp make a will and leave his half of estate to his children instead of me without my knowledge?

[mrspicklepants]

Just that really. We are married and I had assumed if something happened to one of us the other would inherit their half of estate (he certainly would if I died!) but we both have grown up children from previous relationships and I just wondered is it possible for him to have made a will I don't know about?

[Tommy]

I guess it is possible! have you spoken to him about it?

[Mendi]

Yes he can except if you own your house as joint tenants (rather than tenants in common) then his interest in it can only pass to you on his death, regardless of what his will says.

Why do you think your DH would do this anyway?

[Kundry]

Yes. In the UK if you have made a will you can leave all your estate to whoever you like, regardless of your marital status, number of children etc.

If he hasn't made a will, as his wife you would inherit the whole estate not just half.

[mikkii]

I think it depends on certain things. How do you own your property (if you have one) as tenants in common, you each own a % of the property and can bequeath it as you wish. As joint tenants, if one dies, the other becomes the sole owner and there is no "share" in the property that can be bequeathed.

DH and I have "mirror wills" in that they say the same, except we name the other as beneficiary.

If there are other significant assets, you should probably ave a discussion about your plans and us.

[Mendi]

Should add that if he did do this, and died, then you would probably have a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for greater provision on the basis that you were being maintained by him before his death and reasonably expected that you would be provided for in the will.

Can you ask him what he is doing about his will?

[cece]

My Gran married a widower. When his wife died she left her half of the house to the children. He then had to sell his house to pay them off as they wanted their money.

So my Gran's new husband then had to move to a smaller house to enable his children to have their money. They were also very concerned that my Gran should not be left any of their Dad's money/house should he die first...

[Blu]

Would you not make provision for your children who are not his children? Such as leaving them a share of your half of the house (if you have one?).

No-one I know has ended up inheriting after their birth parent has died and left their estate to a spouse / step-parent

Have the 2 of you not made a will?

[mumblechum1]

OP, if your husband did make a will which didn't give you adequate provision, you could make an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.

It is possible that he's made a will granting you a life interest in his half of the house, which means that you can live there until you die or remarry, at which point the house is sold and his half goes to whomever he's specified in the will. This only works, however, if the house is held as tenants in common.

I'm a will writer and frequently make wills containing life interest trusts for step families, in order to prevent the children from an earlier relationship losing out if their step parent changes the will to cut them out.

[ResNullius]

Please do be aware that spouses do not automatically inherit the entire estate in the absence of a will, unless the estate has a value below £250,000

Above that, the surviving spouse or civil partner receives the chattels, a statutory legacy of £250,000 and a life interest in half of the residue.
The children receive the other half of the residue in equal shares.

Rules differ, in Scotland.

[mumblechum1]

Spot on ResNullius. Lots of people assume that their spouse will inherit everything and at one time they usually did because the threshold was relatively high, but now £250,000 is not a fortune, given property prices so more and more people are being caught out if they don't have a will.