Protecting my house

[Greenkit]

I am currently going through divorce, husband has stayed in the house and he has bought me out. We have amicably split, I wont touch his pension, he wont touch mine and I dont have a claim on any inheritance.

I bought a new house end of July and my new partner moved in a few months later, as a lodger, he has an agreement and pays rent/bills.

I would like to put my house in trust for my children x 2 (23 and 21)

1. I can do this now
   
   
2. If we get married, would the house still be protected?
   
   
3. What if I wanted to sell and buy something else or we bought joint, am I tied in to the trust?
   
   
4. Is there another way?

[Collaborate]

Bad idea for so many reasons.

To answer your questions...

1. You can do it whenever you want.
   
2. Yes, possibly, though the court can vary a nuptial settlement.
   
3. Depends what the trust says.
   
4. A pre-nuptial agreement is what you need.
   

You may find that unless you pay your children rent there will be inheritance tax to pay when you die.

You may find that there are other unattractive tax implications depending on the terms of the trust.

You may find that the children fall out with you and the property is sold from under you.

You may find that your children's creditors go after the property in the event of debt default or bankruptcy.

You may find that when the property is sold it will attract capital gains tax payable by your children, whereas had you owned it no CGT would be payable.

There are other reasons not to do it but if the above isn't enough to put you off I really will give up hope.

[Greenkit]

So how can I 'Give' my house to my children when I die and protect it from going to my husband if we marry, and possibly to his new wife if he remarries and dies.

A situation he is going through now with his mum and step mum

[Djimino]

Do you have to marry your new partner?

Wouldn't it be easier not to?

[Greenkit]

@Djimino

I think I would like to at some point, I am 48 and he is 52, so not over the hill yet

[Luzina]

You can keep the house in your sole name and leave it to your children in your will. However i don't know how you'd 100% ensure that he couldn't benefit in a divorce. A solicitor would be able to advise you.

[mclover]

I think there is some confusion with inheritance tax here.

What you can do is have a solicitor draw you up a will that specifies your house/ any subsequent house is to go to your sons and explicitly states not to your new husband. You should then back this up by getting a pre-nup. This will not help your children to avoid inheritance tax though. You'd need to talk to a financial advisor for that, and you wouldn't want to do it until much later in life.

[Greenkit]

@mclover

Great, I will see a solicitor. New partner is adamant the house is for my children, but I want to make sure

[MarieG10]

You can leave it to your children and if you chose insert a clause allowing your husband (if you marry) to stay in the house for life. However, non of that is relevant if you divorce.

A pre-nup won't guarantee anything. Judges can ignore and can you afford the legal fees if the worse happened.

Frankly I wouldn't get married!

[zsazsajuju]

Only way to guarantee it goes to your children not your dp is either not to marry him, or give it to them now. Pre-nups are not always followed.

Is IHT an issue? Most estates are not at the limit.

[Booboosweet]

Don't marry him. Of course he's saying now that he'll leave it to your children. It's what you want to hear. If you marry him you're betraying your kids.

[prh47bridge]

You can write your will in a way that guarantees the house will go to your children. If you want your partner/husband to continue living there you give him a life interest in the property with it then passing to your children on his death.

Protecting your house in divorce is more difficult. However, whilst pre-nuptial agreements are not legally binding, the courts will usually uphold them provided both partners entered the agreement voluntarily and understood its implications, the agreement is fair and there was no pressure involved. To stand the best chance of an agreement being upheld it should be drawn up by a solicitor and you should both take independent legal advice.

[Collaborate]

You cannot guarantee that by making a will the house will go to your children, because he'll always be able to make a claim under the Inheritance Act.

If you go down the pre-nuptial route getting legal advice for each of you is not just better, it's essential (agreement will not be enforceable without it). There are other essential elements that your solicitor should be advising you about.

[TiddyTid]

Our house is in trust, split between our children percentage wise mostly in my DCs favour as I put the majority of the equity in. We are married. No rent to pay as its set up as our right for life to live in it until the second one of us dies. It's outside of the estate.

It's to avoid any potential mess between a blended family in the future which is by no means blended.