To leave my house to my children and not my husband

He should be entitled to at least half the equity, in his own right. A trust could be set up for the remainder of the property.

Surely the sensible thing to do would be to say on the date we bought it (examples here) the house cost 250k, you supplied a 50k deposit and the other 200k youve been paying equally. Hold the property as tenants in common. His share is then 100/250 and yours is 150/250 ie you own 60% and ensure your wills reflect that. If there's an element of fairness to it then he's going to struggle to claim it all if you were to die first. Then make sure he retains the right to stay in the property until he passes on or remarries. And that your children retain the right to stay too.

See a solicitor. Make a will

Yes, and if her husband contested the will he’d absolutely have a case. But she has said that he is entirely happy for the house to go to the children upon her death.

Maybe he's not really thought about all the possibilities that could happen.
Life-changing illness, disability, redundancy etc.

It's fine saying 'yes' to OP's plan when you're fit and healthy (maybe in your 30s), but 20 or more years ahead that could all change.

I assume he's got the sense to save some of his income even though he's also paying towards the mortgage. (I also assume he thinks it's a good deal and cheaper than renting.)

Yes, and if her husband contested the will he’d absolutely have a case. But she has said that he is entirely happy for the house to go to the children upon her death.

No . Completely incorrect information ! The OP is married. Which makes the home a matrimonial asset and almost certainly gives him rights . Especially given the length of marriage and him paying half the mortgage. The family home is not OPs to Will to who she wishes , with the exception of the deposit, her husband has made equal contributions.
In divorce- the deposit would be considered to have become. ‘matrimonialized’ and this home would be considered a completely joint asset. As things stand, he would definitely have a claim under ‘inheritance (provision for family and dependents) 1975.
Just having your name on a property (if married) doesn’t necessarily make it yours.

Definitely consult a solicitor but it is possible to amend the title to tenants in common with you owning 99% share of the property and he owns 1%. That 1% should protect his right to live in the house until it is sold, should you predecease him, even if you leave your 99% share to your children. He can, of course, leave his 1% share to who ever he pleases. But as I said, definitely consult a solicitor before amending the title.

Have it written in your will. I will 100% be doing the same thing. Not married, but all assets to our children if anything was to happen to me. I have life insurance also, he does not.

Why don’t you sell the house, put money aside for your children, and buy a different house for you and your husband.

Surely better to give them money before you die?

You can leave your house to your children in a Will trust, it is not advised to be directly gifted to them, and allow the husband to live in the property for life or with a set period or certain restrictions.

The OP said numerous times that she’ll redo her will when the children are adults.

Wills can be updated yearly or even in a months time if need be

@Moiraroseee is protecting her assets for /to her kids if she does before they are adults

she may change will again then

I contributed all of the deposit and on the mortgage we are 'tenants in common' where I own more percentage than my husband. We both pay the mortgage.

You could do this and then in the will you need to specify if your children are to allow him to stay in the house till he has died/chooses to leave or not. Then can technically kick him out if they own more percentage

I don't think either of them have considered all the possibilities in the future.

What happens if they are in their 80s when she dies?
What happens if she dies first and he is alive but disabled through illness or accidents and can't work?

Please consult a solicitor.
Also bear in mind IHT.
There in no iht to pay between spouses but the estate will be liable if left to children.
It sounds like it could be a large estate.

I think it's reasonable to leave an estate to children rather than a 2nd husband who is not their father. BUT how does that work here when he's paying towards the house?

At the very least @Moiraroseee you should have a Deed of trust whereby whatever you each contribute to the house purchase is ring fenced - and you each get back your percentage.

My take on this is if you die first, and owned it on a 60-40 basis, he would get 40% of the equity and your children would inherit the rest.

You can't simply give your house to your children if he is paying towards the mortgage. He could contest this and it would go to court.

UNLESS you have discussed this with him and it's put into a legal cocument.

Bear in mind that things can change. What if he became seriously ill and couldn't work? He'd not have a 6-figure income then.

What if- god forbid- you were both in an accident, you died, and he was seriously injured, unable to walk or work?

Would he be kicked out of the house then?

You’d need a lawyer to tell you whether you CAN leave the house to your children, instead of your husband. But you are being a complete AH to him.

If he’s not their dad you need to protect the DC - in case he remarries and doesn’t update his will to include the DC as marriage will automatically means the estate will go to his new wife. This happens a lot. So a water tight will is required.

Ask yourself the same question from the other way around

Does your husband have children of his own
Where are you expecting him to live if you die
How are you expecting him to live if the property he has called home and contributed to for years is pulled from under him?

You'll have to talk to a lawyer but if he's been paying in to the property the same as you then it's a bit of a dick move

I know that. You've misunderstood.

I wasn't posting with regard to all possibilities, or a trust.
My comments were based on the OP saying she could simply write a will saying her H had to move out and not walk away with anything, even though he had paid towards the house.

An aunt of mine had that set up whereby she was allowed to live in the house till she died, then it would be sold and her H's children would inherit.

They met and married as widow/ widowers so their children were adults at the time anyway.

Not correct, the trust can specify the spouse can live in property for life or specified term . The terms of any trust are laid out in the Will. The assets are held in trust until 18 or older, if surving spouse has right to occupy. It may specify that the property is sold and the cash held in trust. There are several posibilities based on testators wishes. This is why professional.advice be obtained to cover all potential issues.

Exactly. I can't believe the words financial abuse have only been mentioned for the first time on page 11. If the genders were reversed it would be a very different story!

I know. I was referring to the fact that you said the children would turf him out. The OP is only talking about what will happen if she dies before the children are 18, so the children personally won’t be doing any turfing.

If the children are under 18 at the time of inheriting then anything they inherit will be left in trust and the executors of the will are responsible for managing the assets.

The executors of a will, as trustees for any assets left to the children, are quite capable of throwing a widower out of a house if they feel that is the best thing to maintain the assets for the children.

"Solicitor said that's fine....as long as we don't ever marry. If we did husband would be entitled to the house. "

I'm sorry, but that is absolute rubbish. Whoever told you that appears to know nothing about writing wills.

Please, speak with a solicitor who is experienced in this area. This is a very common situation (lots of people get divorced and then remarry and want to ensure that their share of the house is left to their own children).