Slightly morbid question about inheritance

[colaiced]

At the moment, I am not married and am unsure whether this might be better.

I own assets that outright are worth around £150,000. Obviously I would like to leave to DC. I also have a pension payout which I’d like to leave direct to Dc.

If I marry, DH would automatically inherit, but then if he was to remarry, my children would miss out.

Is there a way of safeguarding assets to avoid this? I know it’s a somewhat cold question but well, death is natural!

I suppose for that eventuality then a prenup could be an option.

Though IIRC they’re not legally binding but often taken as a good indication of original plans/agreement.

@CoveredInBeeeees you’re right but that doesn’t mean that they don’t ‘go missing’ once they’ve been handed to the executor who isn’t benefitting from it (if no one else knows if it’s existence) or if the solicitor it’s lodged with isn’t informed that you’ve died.

I’m 99% certain a relative of mine destroyed a will because he wasn’t happy with the contents, once it was destroyed he got 100% of the assets. There was no copy will but the deceased had often talked about the contents of the will and he had always made it known he wasn’t happy about the contents of the will.

Different here in Scotland as said by Ursaminor said .
To be honest you’d be much better not getting married to be 100 % certain ..
Possibly not a popular opinion but to protect your assets for your children it’s a great option

These are all the kinds of scenario that @mumblechum0 of MN ran through with us in order to write our wills (one each ).

https://www.marlowwills.co.uk

One phone call to consider all the scenarios and we had a draft within a week. Now all signed and sorted. Really easy and really very good value, too Highly recommended by many on MN.

But wait, the child you are talking about here is a baby and your baby is with your dp? If you are concerned about him running off with your money and abandoning your infant child, you have bigger problems than who gets the house!

Ultimately, your baby cannot fend for him/herself and will for the next 18 years be supported by his/her dad. I would want everything I owe to go towards making that as easy as could be. You aren’t talking about supporting a 70 told partner in his retirement with a mail order bride versus your 20 year old child. You need to sit down and have a conversation with your partner.

For what it’s worth, I brought a lot more assets into my marriage than my dh (by several £100,000). I couldn’t imagine that going to anyone but dh if I died. We have 2 dc to support for the next 11 and 16 years respectively.

EVERY parent needs to have a WILL, with advice from and drawn up * by a solicitor/lawyer.*

Many solicitors take part in an annual  October charity event called Will Week.. You can get  your willprofessionally written  for a very reasonable price which goes to charity.

The actress Linda Bellingham left her entire estate to her husband on the understanding that he would, in time, provide for her sons (his stepsons). I have read that he has since fallen out with her sons, has disinherited them and is planning to remarry. The moral of the story is surely to take steps to protect the interests of our children or they could end up with nothing.

Mind - I don’t want or hope to die!

But if I do, and my partner remarries, our child could end up with nothing. I’d be a fool to ignore that and a fool I am not!

I'm in the process of doing this right now. Life insurance is being set up that would pay off the remainder of the mortgage in the event of my death then the house is in trust until DCs are 25, then they can sell and split the proceeds 50/50. Not married at the moment but if I did I would get my Will re-done (I asked about future proofing for possible re-marriage and was told I'd need to re-do it anyway).

A will “in contemplation of marriage” is probably the best course of action if you’re in England - otherwise you’d spend each flight and scary airport taxi ride on your honeymoon fretting. Only works if you’re imminently planning to marry a named individual, but if you are it’s just as solid as one written after the wedding.

Also have you got a junior isa for your child, theyll have access to it when they turn 18.

@FinallyHere were you able to do the entire process by phone? What about witnesses?

@SilveryWrath

We had the option to visit their offices, where witnesses would be provided. Instead we had the final wills sent to us and signed with friends to witness the signatures. That was, of course, pre-COVID-19.

It may still be possible to have the signature witnessed by someone.

It is still possible to have your wills witnessed in a Covid-safe way, so don't let that put you off.