What happens if a married couple die at the same time and only one has a will?

[namechangeranonymouse]

The Will of a friend (married 12 years) states if should both she and her husband die at the same time the proceeds of her house should go entirely to her son.

Her husband hasn't written a will so would die intestate.

The friend (wife) paid for the house in its entirety, but has been supported since then by her husband.

Her son is from a first marriage.

Husbands daughters ditto. No children together. No Trust written into the will. Not drawn up by a solicitor. All signed legally though.

None of the adult childen are dependent on their parents.

I just wonder what the legal position is as it seems unfair to me. I've said this but she said she bought the house and it is in her name only.
Anyone know the legal position?

Not a lawyer.

Isn't there a rule about the younger person being presumed to have died second?

We have stuff in our wills re 'survived for 30 days'.

Yes I have also heard if husband and wife die together say in a car crash etc it is treated as the older one died first.

Isn't there a rule about the younger person being presumed to have died second?

That was definitely the rule that was explained to me when I was drawing up my will.

Honestly I think the best thing to do would be for the husband to write a will!!

Problem is if she dies first, presumably the house goes to her husband and if he has no will it goes to his daughter and her son gets nothing.

You could try posting in Legal Matters for a more informed answer but it's very unlikely they would both die at exactly the same time, so the situation would differ depending on who was deemed (in law) to have died first, if she dies first he would inherit as her spouse and when he died the estate would go to the daughter, but if he died first then this part of her will would be valid.

@TeenPlusCat is right. If they cannot work out who died first (and sometimes they can) then the younger person is presumed to have survived longer.

So in your scenario assuming the man is the older. If he has no will the laws of intestacy will apply. Not in the UK so unsure if this means it all goes to his wife or just a specific amount (as is the case where I live and anything extra is divided equally between spouse and kids). It is ten distributed based on her will.

If they die at the same time (ie in an accident where it can't be determined who died first) then the legal assumption is that the older spouse died first (Law of Property Act 1925). So if she's the younger then her husband's savings etc would pass to the wife (unless he's got hundreds of thousands in savings in which case his daughter would get a share) and then everything including the house would go to her son. If her husband is the younger then the house would go straight to the son while the balance of any joint account would go to the husband and then that along with any personal possessions of the husband.would go to his daughter.

TBH if the house belongs to the wife then it seems extremely reasonable that it should go to her son - I don't think husband's daughter would have any reasonable expectations.

Equity presumes the younger survived the older if the order of death cannot be established. So if you have mirror wills all to spouse the estate would pass under younger ones will or if no will under the younger ones intestacy.

I agree that much more of an issue is what happens in the will if she simply dies and husband survives her. Would her son then get nothing?

Thats really interesting! I didn't know that. I'll point this out to DF as she is a little older than him. It may push her to be fairer.

So if she died first and he died a few days later in hospital he wouldn't have the time or energy to contest her will under the Inheritance act, and his daughters couldn't do it, so the son would inherit everything under his late mothers will.

It does seem no matter what in the current circumstances either one set of children get everything and the other nothing. Mirror wills I think, like DH and I!

Why doesn't the husband make a will?

Step children aren’t included in the intestacy laws so if the Dh has no will and inherits from your friend if she dies first his Dd will inherit on his death and not the son.

My advice would be they all get wills done properly! Friend needs to give Dh life interest trust in the house to get iht exemption and so he has somewhere to live if he survived her but on his death house stays under her will and goes to her son.

Why isn't it fair? The house is not her husband's so why should his daughter get a share?

I'd be much more concerned about what happens to the son if they don't die at the same time.

I'm in almost the same situation with a house and my own children, and then my DH. He will have a right to reside in the house until his death but will never inherit it. It is left in trust to the children.

For exactly the reason of what if I die first. I'm not risking the children's inheritance on a 50/50 gamble.

@1099

You could try posting in Legal Matters for a more informed answer but it's very unlikely they would both die at exactly the same time, so the situation would differ depending on who was deemed (in law) to have died first, if she dies first he would inherit as her spouse and when he died the estate would go to the daughter, but if he died first then this part of her will would be valid.

Road/air accidents are the situations given by our tye solicitor who wrote our wills, where both people in a couple could feasibly die at the same time. Unlikely, but not impossible.

Does the son inherit if the DH survives your DF? If it passes to the DH, it would be the DH's will (or lack of) that mattered. In that scenario, your DF's son would get nothing.

Have a google for the court case about the couple who died in Belfairs, Leigh on Sea. Both died at the same time. Both daughters thought they should inherit the property..

@Velvian

Does the son inherit if the DH survives your DF? If it passes to the DH, it would be the DH's will (or lack of) that mattered. In that scenario, your DF's son would get nothing.

yes, not as straightforward as it looks.