DH left me NOTHING in his will – devastated and fuming

Please remember how you felt when you thought you would get nothing at all and don't do the same to your dh's children from his first marriage.

At the very least, make sure they are remembered in your will along with your joint children when you are passing down what you inherited from your husband when the time comes.

Yes, worth checking up on that. I only found out by accident when my husband died.

I was entitled to it because I wasn't yet pension age.

Someone with more knowledge will come along to confirm, I'm sure, but I think marriage revokes the will. So, you as his wife, should inherit. I'm pretty sure that's the legal position If there's any doubt / argument about it with DH's older children you can contest and will be likely to win as they are comfortable financially, whereas you are not, and I haven't RTFT but it sounds like your children are still dependents. It must be a very stressful, painful time for you. Try not to worry. I think it'll be ok 💐

Depends whether your husband assets etc, were put into a trust for his children.

If they were, you don't have a leg to stand on unfortunately OP.

I think it's a shame to see this as deliberate malice or deliberate apathy towards you, especially as you say it was a happy marriage. It's really, really common for people not to have an up-to-date will for so many reasons that are nothing to do with not wanting one. I think you will be happier if you see this as an oversight rather than something he did on purpose.

His will was revoked on marrying you, so he is effectively intestate and his will shall be administered according to the laws of intestacy in your legal jurisdiction

unless the will says it was made in contemplation of marriage, the marriage invalidates it and the intestacy rules apply.

Go and get advice from a solicitor who deals with wills and probate

I really hope that what people are saying is true. Fingers crossed for you

The will is gone if it was made before your marriage and was not made in contemplation of marriage to you as a named person.

if this is the case he is intestate. You get the first £322k and half the remainder. Anything jointly owned would come to you by survivorship.

This is why these charity “free wills” enrage me. It’s not the basic document you need it’s the advice - especially with the rise in blended families.

If you do inherit everything, I hope you give his children something from their dad.

OP, assuming you are in England or Wales, that there is no newer will (you should check on this) and that the will you have does not say it was made in contemplation of marriage, then you should apply for letters of administration so you can distribute his estate under the rules of intestacy (it doesn’t all automatically go to you if it’s a large estate, but you get most of it).

I would start talking to his children to set up a civil discussion about the estate and maybe consult a solicitor with them if you think it may be a shock to them that the will isn’t valid. You are reeeling from the loss of your husband and they will be reeling from the loss of their father so emotions will be running high. But it is a good idea to try and avoid anything acrimonious with others who might have had reasonable expectations as disputes can be costly, emotionally draining and time consuming. There may be sentimental items they would like. You may also want to consider what your DH would have wanted for them if he had had the good sense to update his will and vary the distribution to reflect this if it would have been more generous than the law provides, or rewrite your own will to include them when the time comes.

There's Bereavement Support Payment.

I hope it goes to you and your dc. Any life insurance/death in service benefits?

It's a bit complex and depends whether the property is jointly owned by you and what proportion of the estate is house as to how much it will impact your life if say for example you want to stay in the house.

The most important thing is to not listen to what people tell you on here and go and get proper advice from a solicitor.

Oh and make sure before you go to get as much info together re the ownership of the house and the likely size of the estate.

How much are we talking OP?

And are you in England?

You won't need a fight, you don't even need to talk about it

Everyone (apart from you 😬) knows it comes to you.

They will be expecting it from the moment you got married, don't worry

I've skimmed, so apologies if anyone else had suggested it, but please look at your home insurance policy, and see if it includes a free legal helpline. They nearly all do, whether or not you chose full legal cover.

My insurers helpline (24/7 and I called at 11pm) was an absolute lifesaver. I honestly think the lovely lawyer who answered my question and reassured me, saved my mental health that night.

So I'm evangelical about telling people to check their home insurance. Someone actually qualified will be able to tell you where to stand and what to do next @jackmd5

See a lawyer. The first thing you need to do, asap, is lodge a caveat with the probate office to prevent the executor of the existing will being granted probate and starting distribution, getting access to accounts etc.

do that, now. You can do it yourself if you feel confident, but you need a lawyer appt now.

eta if he died a few months ago have you checked to see if they’ve applied for probate under the old will? If so you really need to get on it. Do you have a friend who could maybe help you out?

do a probate search on the .gov website.

@jackmd5 you need proper legal advice on this.

If the will is void then there are default rules to where money / property goes. I’m in Scotland so marital home would go to wife but a proportion of movable estate would go to any dc .

Exactly the same happened to my DSIL. Apart from the house there wasn’t much. DBIL hadn’t made a will after their marriage, his adult kids weren’t happy, but at least DSIL couldn’t be turfed out after nearly 20 years. They’ll get most of it when she dies.

I know nothing about such legal matters things but I do want to express my sympathy for your situation.

What a truly horrible situation to be put in. I'm so sorry for your loss. It must all be such a massive shock.

You've had some great advice here from fellow Mumsnetters.

Take a deep breath. You've got some work to do to protect yours and your children's future. I know it feels like a massive betrayal but I doubt if he meant to do it. He most probably thought he had plenty of time. If you had a good relationship, try not to let it sour your memories of him. Saying that, I really can't blame you for calling him all the bad names under the sun for what he did.

Best of luck to you in getting it sorted out.

Why?
The DH died intestate because the will failed due to subsequent marriage.

1. The wife automatically becomes the owner of any jointly owned savings/assets.
2. The wife then gets the first £322,000 of the remaining estate
3. The wife gets ALL personal possessions
4. Anything that belonged to the DH alone is then split and the wife gets 50%
5. All children (from first and subsequent marriage) split 50% of the residue equally.

So all children get something unless the estate is worth less than £322k