To leave my house to my children and not my husband

If you’re young enough can’t you just cover them with life insurance instead? How old are you/they? Would you really want your partner to have the grief of moving when he’s lost his wife? How would you feel if it was the other way around?

FYI my parents are in new relationships and I wouldn’t dream of counting their partners out because I wanted money. One of the reasons my mum didn’t get married was to ring fence her pension for us.

The short answer is maybe with a really good will. More likely you need to set up a trust.

I am going through months of anxiety because my mother's boyfriend is trying to contest her will. He and his lawyers say that because he lived with her he is her dependent and has a right to her estate. It looks like we could be responsible for him for the rest of his life even though she deliberately didn't put him in her will. They were only together a couple of years.

Be very very careful and consult good lawyers.

I don’t really know why you married him, do you understand what marriage is legally? If this is your plan, it would make sense for him to buy a property for himself now, all very well saying he has a good income, but that’s not always guaranteed if you die when he’s a pensioner would he have the sums to buy a property outright?

Then your post makes no sense. If he's so brilliant and supportive... surely if something went awry and he ended up inheriting, he'd pass it onto your kids anyway? Are you worried he wouldn't? In which case you need legal advice. You also need to consider who would be looking after them when they are under 18 - I presume you don't want them to stay with him?

exactly - I smell something a bit fishy here

You've discussed it, he is onboard and you already have a Will (presumably professionally written) so what exactly are you asking?

Watertight against what?
You want to leave to kids he doesn't mind what's the problem?

I am in similar position, although long term but not married. I went to a solicitor as ive had 20 years of mortgages etc, currently have 2 of the buggers as buying an ex out amd had to fight to get him to agree etc, so feel very much the house is just mine. Partner is lovely but these are my kids..want the house to go to them

I went to a solicitor as wanted my partner to live in the house when I died, until his death and then fall to the kids as inheritance. Solicitor said that's fine....as long as we don't ever marry. If we did husband would be entitled to the house. I dont belive right now he wouldn't then leave it to the kids but realistically, I could die tomorrow and he meet someone else and be with them 30 plus years. As it is...I remain engaged but not married til I future this out!

The other issue to consider is the pain this could cause your children, he could contest the will and he’d have a case as your husband and the joint account. They could also be put through a legal battle whilst grieving. There’s a few ways you can deal with this but cutting him out and making him homeless is not the right one for everyone concerned.
at the very least he needs to register an interest in the house now which he can legally do

Does he have a property of his own?

I understand your thinking but I think you have really muddied the water by having him contribute to the mortgage payments.

Personally I would not have married in this situation - one of the primary benefits of marriage is to enable tax free inheritance between two adults, so you have all of the downsides of that legal commitment without wanting the upside.

If he doesn't need the money and is so wonderful then why are you even asking us? surely he would not contest any will in that case and this question is completely redundant

So you've discussed it with him?
Edited to add i can now see it looks like you've discussed it so I'm another one who can't see the point in the thread.

The house is yours so you can do what you want to a certain extent but if he’s paying for half the costs or paying other bills so you can afford the mortgage consider if it’s fair. In divorce it will be considered a marital asset. You need a will for starters and a proportionate solution could be he has right of occupancy for rest of life or set number of years. If your children are under 18 you also need to consider where they will live, they can’t live alone

You can grant him a life interest to stay in the property but your share passes to them when it’s eventually sold. Uou need to hold as tenants in common. Solicitor will advise.

So what’s the point of the thread ?????

He’s paying half the mortgage on a house he has no legal connection to? Guy’s an idiot.

I wonder what those “various reasons” were, that put your husband is such a vulnerable position?

If the sexes were reversed, posters would be telling you to get legal advice. He needs to get himself added to the Deeds as soon as possible.

If he pays 50% of the mortgage he should morally be entitled to 50% of the property minus the deposit. I divorced my ex who had contributed our deposit. I could have demanded 50% but I didn’t ask for that because of the deposit. You can’t however take his portion of the house, what would happen to him when you due homelessness?