DH left me NOTHING in his will – devastated and fuming

Well it’s obvious that nobody is dealing with ‘probate’ - you know, seeing that the will is invalid 🙄
Solicitors don’t apply for letters of administration when there are living family members and a Spouse to deal with it.
I ask again, how did this old will come to light?
If OP didn’t even know of the will then what did she think would happen?
So she didn’t look into dealing with intestacy?
Hmm.

So you think he wouldn't want to leave something to all his children? Bloody hell !

Yes they were - in their 20’s

Will the children inherit equally? Because two of them are young and will still need more support than grown adult children. Education costs, clothing, food, clubs...
It sounds a right mess, but I am glad the OP and their joint children aren't being left in the dust.

Thank goodness the older kids will get something.

@jackmd5

to set your mind at some ease before you see a solicitor complete this link which will show the estate split between you and children

www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

Same here.

WHY should they get nothing when it is THEIR father as well, and he clearly loved them enough to have left his estate to them.

This is why I would never remarry- I want my house &c to go to DC.

You’re NOT going to inherit everything.

I work in wills. Yes, the will would have been revoked by your marriage. Anything joint automatically becomes yours (the savings). But with a value of £400,000, you’re not going to get everything if he has since not made a new will.

You need a solicitor to sort this out properly. His children will get something based on the figures you have provided.

This is a mess because unless there’s other funds, the children’s shares will have to come from the property.

Yeah. Sod his young dc. Just give it all to his adult dc who he's already paid to bring up.

Speak to a solicitor. Any will made before he married you is voided. In effect he has died intestate

Not necessarily - I met my husband over a decade ago, he had children in their 30’s from his first marriage and then we have twins now aged 5. The only asset DH has (we rent, no car, no stocks, shares etc) is his pension account and the distribution of it is that I get 50% and the remaining 50% is split equally between his 4 children which we did based on the .gov advice on distribution of personal estate under intestacy rules for England & Wales. There is only 3 years between our ages and we’re in our 50’s.

"I didn’t create this situation, HE did by not sorting his will. And now I have to deal with the fallout."

Not being mean to you, OP, but as a cautionary tale for others: Neither spouse should be in full charge of financial, tax and estate matters. You are (were) both adults; did you never bring up estate planning? Did you not even inquire? This situation is the creation of both of you, not just him.

I have seen so many women blindly trust that "Oh Nigel will handle all of that money stuff/legal stuff," and even giggle about it, and/or give up their own earning power, only to be absolutely shocked and impoverished when it turns out that Nigel has failed to make a will, made a will in favour of others, gambled away the pension pot or otherwise screwed them over.

Never trust anyone with your security and financial future. It's not "unromantic" to be prepared and it's not morbid to discuss estate planning. Take heed.

You’re being a bit unreasonable to be livid at him for not updating his will when you don’t even have one. What if you’d dropped dead before he did, he might have felt angry at you for not sorting a will as well? Why didn’t you ever discuss it?

As others have said his old will is overridden now you’re married anyway, but I feel bad for his older kids if they end up with nothing. Seek legal advice asap and be fair to his other children, especially if he paid off the house before you met him, it was his house then really and they should ideally benefit. If he’s let anyone down in not updating his will it’s his children rather than you.

No one assumes they’re going to die unexpectedly, we all think we have time… you included.

I'm sorry for such a difficult situation, OP.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/dealing-with-the-financial-affairs-of-someone-who-has-died/

I too find the fact that his first children get nothing- a second wife can waltz in and screw over the older children- he clearly loved his older children, as he left his estate to them.

Isn't this why people put stuff in a trust? It belongs to the trust not the person.
So no, it's not rubbish

@jackmd5 I am sorry for your loss. 💐

But on a practical note

1. I’ve been dealing with everything – funeral, DC, paperwork, the lot – while also grieving. Yes this a bad time to have so much to deal with but surely the will would have been a priority when dealing with paperwork. I can't quite understand how it has taken you so long to find out abut his will. Did you not ask for a copy from his solicitor?

2, I’ve just found out that he left NOTHING to me in his will. Not a penny. Everything has gone to his two DC from his first marriage, Where did you find this out from? Who told you? His DC or his solicitor? His DC wouldn't be able to pretend they inherited everything surely , so either that is in a now invalid will , or he did write one post marriage leaving everything to them. The latter sounds strange, though.

It still doesn't change the fact though you need to speak to your solicitor . Today. Only then will you know.

Sorry if you have answered some of this but I think the advice on here is pretty clear.

Edit to add - if you do end up getting the lion's share I concur with others that you treat his adult children fairly & in the spirit of them being his children as much as yours are.

Wondering if he was a widower and now op gets the house that the older dc should have inherited.

Depending on where you are and how much the total estate is worth, you'll probably end up with a large percentage, if not all of it.

What I would say is that if you get everything, and his grown up kids get nothing... I'd do something about that.

I didn't care about the money when I lost my dad, but I did care about having something tangible of his to hold onto. I'm sure your DH had enough personal clutter to make sure all of his kids (and you) get some kind of keepsake each. It's not about how valuable it is, it's about how it makes you feel, how it makes you think of the person you've lost and actually smile.

The will is invalid because he married you. You get prioritised as his wife.

As for his older kids, the fact they were in his will before marriage shows they were always important to him.

So, as much as he could have made this less painful for everyone all round, it sounds like he loved all of you, and thought he'd have more time to deal with 'life admin'.

I'm so sorry for your loss, OP, and how this situation has just added to your stress and your grief.