Husband wants to put all his pensions in trust for kids.

He only needs to write an Expression of Wishes, but this is not legally binding and can be overturned by the Trustees. I can assure you, he can leave it to whom he wants, but it may not happen. It sounds like you would be successful in challenging this in the event of his death.

Whether you would be better taking half his pension via a divorce is another matter...

You need a good divorce lawyer.

I would also update your will asap so that all your assets go to your kids, just in case you were to go under a bus tomorrow.

Seek advice. Your children may not support you because of their circumstances even if there is zero bad blood between you.

Most pension plans are set up as trusts already. Any dependant would have a claim against it and the trustees have a legal duty to act in the best interests of potential financial dependants.

This may not always have been obvious even to them but I work in that area and they are now much more on the ball. They will usually ask to see the will even if a pension is outside the estate/will.

This is due to the fact that some nominations on pension schemes can be 20/30 years out of date and very clearly no longer reflect a holder’s wishes.

Pensions are a very good tool for generational wealth transfer and I wouldn’t immediacy jump to divorce conclusions. It really depends on your circumstances.

Well yes. I don't need the money but the kids would. Why would I want to top up my (comfortable) bank balance while living in a mortgage free house while they are still renting?

I have done this for my kids as it avoids inheritance tax. DH will have a good pension regardless and we have no plans for divorce!! My financial advisor suggested it as the most tax efficient way to plan for the future. I had my kids late (37 and 41) so it might well be a real boost for them in the future. I’m going to inherit precisely FA so I want to provide better for my own kids.

DH is fully on board with it. He and I both agree 💯 that kids are the number one priority although obviously not at the expensive of each other being ok!

So would you be happy if your husband gave his pension to your children, completely bypassing you? Don't forget that pension money came out of joint marital assets - it doesn't just belong to him.

Agreed with all of the posters that this has the smell of planning for a divorce rather than estate planning. You mention that your kids are at school and uni - when is the youngest due to turn 18/leave home? In my experience that's a classic window for a split and he may well be prepping in advance of that.

Either way, I would seek legal advice from a divorce lawyer so you know where you stand and what you can be doing now to protect your interests.

Well it's definitely not the best thing for the OP.

If he were to die you would get the house. So you would have a roof over your head, your own income and your own rental house payments. What more do you need?
Do the kids own their own properties? Doubt it looking at your ages. This money would help them get security.

I agree with others. Seek urgent legal advice. Sounds like he is 'getting his ducks in a row' so that he he has less 'assets' to be thrown into the joint finances if/when you divorce.

It's her money too, he earned it while they were narried. And she might need it to live on.

He’s trying to ring fence it from a divorce which many of us strongly suspect he is building up to. After the divorce he will reinstate it back to himself. He’s trying to screw his wife over. Which is ironic considering he’s already been caught screwing other women.

but then he divorces and ends the trust?

I think this would be marriage ending for me.

He's been unfaithful, you've already been near divorce.
Sounds like he's 'getting his ducks in a row' and you are on the back foot.

Tbh, I’d be quite happy for dh to put pensions in trust for the children. At least he shows he’s not going to spend it on himself but thinking of helping out your children.

I don’t think putting a pension in trust means OP won’t be granted a % upon divorce. Until death (whilst married) it would be a marital asset, what is left after divorce could be put in trust for the children.

Otherwise everyone would do it surely

A person can nominate their private pensions to whoever they wish

This includes to single or multiple people, family, friends, relatives, charities

No pension provider will ever query this, because they do not know a person's circumstances

The person with the pension, can also change the nominees as many times as they wish

It is his pension to use for himself or nominate to the people of his wishes

You could have completed a divorce petition online before lunchtime.
Irretrievable breakdown.
Don't waste time citing infidelity.

See a lawyer immediately. Like today! He is likely planning to divorce you and wants to make sure that you don’t get any of “his” pension. My guess is that you only have a small pension due to working less and staying at home to raise your shared children. If so, the pension is both of yours. He is trying to screw you over. Likely after the divorce he will take it out of trust and back to himself for retirement. Leaving you with nothing. Act fast.

Grab everything you can and then divorce him.

I strongly suspect once the divorce is over he would reverse the trust. Also I think as there is no logic to what he is saying re IHT I think he is using the angle of the kids to emotionally blackmail the OP. How could a mother deny her children… bollocks to his narrative, if that’s where he takes it.

I know myself, you don’t know what’s round the corner. I never expected to have to give up work due to ill health. OP said her pension is much smaller than his and she’s already 50.

Leaving your assets to the kids in the future, of course. And if I were OP during the divorce process I would absolutely make a will to protect my assets going to them. But she needs that money for her own future at this point. The kids have a lifetime of working ahead of them and eventually they’ll inherit when it’s time.

Seek legal help. It sounds as though he is getting everything planned in advance before he divorces you. You are probably entitled to a share of his pension as my mother and mil both were when they divorced.

Apologies I’ve not read through the thread but what stood out immediately to me was “the marriage is rocky”.
If you were to divorce you are entitled to a share of his pension. Could he be doing this to prevent that happening?

He’s looking to divorce you. Act quickly before he strips you of marital assets.