is DH died...

[cjt110]

what would happen to his stuff?

I have a Will. Made before we married, in contemplation of marriage and basically covers each eventuality with/without children, if i die before him etc.

I have said to DH he needs to get his shit together and sort one out. Been saying it for a few years and DS is almost 5.

So. What would happen to his stuff car, house, personal effects if he died before me? or after me?

I got a free mirror will for myself and dh through my unite union membership

Sorry didn't RTWT.....Please both get wills to make things easier at a difficult time. I lost a parent as a child and everything was locked down in probate for months, including bank accounts. It also opens the inheritance to anyone who feels they can make a claim on the estate and while this may go to court to be argued it still locks things down. It is also vital you agree and put in place the money and guardianship for your child. Any decent lawyer can relatively cheaply create mirror wills for you. Hopefully they will never be needed but if the worst happens it makes the practical stuff easier. Some people avoid wills because it flags up difficult feelings but it was only when we did ours we realised different things that mattered to us.

He still needs to make a will. If he dies intestate then everything will be frozen while you go through probate which is a long process.

Just to throw in my 2p worth OP,

In terms of your child and provisions, your will is possibly not enough. Please correct me if I am wrong those in the know.

If you and DH were in an accident and he outlived you for just a few hours, he would inherit from you first and then whoever would inherit from him. Common sense says the family would follow your wishes but him being intestate would open the door for doubt and we all know that this sort of situation brings out the worst in people.

We’ve just updated our wills as will made before marriage don’t count for anything! Sort the basics out first sweetie, a will is most important.

His possessions would be divided according to a set proportion ; spouse gets x%, children get y% divided between however many there are. In the absence of spouse or children it moves to other blood relatives (parents, siblings). In order to sort it out the estate would be frozen until the probate court make their ruling - so you can’t in the meantime access his bank account, sell his car, etc. This is why people need to make a will - it might not be ideal for you if a chunk of your home became owned by your 5 yr old instead of yourself. And it can take a long while before you actually get the assesses back from probate.

My Dad didn't leave a will. It made dividing up his possessions very difficult - not least because loads of his 'friends' crawled out of the woodwork claiming he always wanted them to have that picture, that musical instrument - and dying intestate meant that we had to jump through a load of legal hoops and wait ages before we could administer the estate. It just drew out the agony.

He doesn't 'need' a will if he's happy for you to get the lot. But if he loves you, he would.

He still needs to make a will. If he dies intestate then everything will be frozen while you go through probate which is a long process.

This^^

It needn't cost that much, he just needs to get his arse in gear and get a will!

I'm unhappy about this 'in contemplation of marriage' bit. Was that exact phrase used in the will, and was it drawn up by a competent professional? I suspect the 'Marriage cancels previous wills' rule is absolute.

The will you made before you got married is not worth the paper it’s written on.

If he dies you get everything.

If you die he gets everything.

Any will you write is meaningless because all assets are now jointly owned so you can’t leave anything to anyone without his consent. You both need proper legal advice.

My DHs father died intestate when my DH was a child. Almost five decades later we are still dealing with the ramifications of this now my MILs house has been sold to pay for care fees.

Whichever PP said that a will cost £1k using a solicitor was ‘done’.

Mine and my DHs wills are more complex as we have DCs from previous marriages, but they cost in total around £450.

For the record, my DH was very wary about using a solicitor. He’d had a Will before but used a very poor Will writing service which cost him £700. After me dragging him to our solicitors to sort out wills when we married, he was so impressed at how straightforward it was, how good the solicitor was at explaining the process, how much better value it was and he’s now talking about amending his will as we now have a grandchild. Miracles sometimes happen.

Everyone needs a will, if I died without a will my entire estate would go directly to DH. If he remarries and in time gets divorced then part of my estate would potentially go to his new ex wife!

Make a will and leave your estate in trust to your children

I've worked too bloody hard for my kids to miss out

My dad died without making a will. He thought my mum would inherit everything by default.

It wasn't as clear cut as that. She had to write to his siblings to check they would not make a claim against his estate. I, and my brothers and sister, were told we could also claim but we refused to do so.

Fortunately, no-one else claimed either. DH has often said that, if it had been his family, they'd still be squabbling over it now!

A marriage invalidates a will .you need a new one

Everything goes to next of kin...
Unless hes got debts he hadn't paid off yet.
Money goes to them first.

there is an awful lot of misinformation here

1. A will made in anticipation of marriage is not invalid if it states this clearly
2. The OP is married, somethings depend on whether things are jointly owned house bank accounts etc, if it is jointly owned it becomes the property of the other party

3, if things are owned as tenants in common mostly this is 50% each, then the spouse only gets the portion under England if under 250K anything that fell under 2.) above doesn't count towards 250K

1. pensions and insurance policies pay out to the benefactor named on said pension or policy whether this is the spouse or not so if someone named their brother as benefactor of an insurance policy if that was not changed on marriage the brother would still get the payout.
2. The law is not the same everywhere in Scotland for example you can't disinherit either your spouse or your children
3. your will may need updating not because you are married see 1.) but because of your child (ren)

for most people an intestate still practically means the spouse gets most as most people do not own enough
ie if a house is worth 500K if owned as joint tenants then they automatically now own 100%
if they are tenants in common the OP's share is 250K ( her DH share is 250K so she gets that anyway) any remaining assets will be 50% to her 50% in trust for their child
lots of people who put house as tenants in common leave their 50% to their kids but give the partner or OH a life time interest in it including moving so the kids only inherit when both parties have died but it protects the first 50% as if home is needed for care fees the proportion set apart from original parent now passes to kids not care home

@notreallyhappy this is not true when will written in contemplation of marriage

@ricoetbello this is not true where it goes follows a legal formula if there is a spouse and no children 1 thing happens the proportion varies if there is children, if there are no spouses or children then something else happens but NOK is often meaningless as you could appoint one brother NOK but he wouldn't inherit anymore than any other sibling unless you write a will

Tell him he must get a will written to make things easier for those left behind .
It does make things harder without the estate set out clearly
It’s selfish and quite honestly irresponsible to neglect these matters .

Also to be sure insurance policies and expression of wish forms etc are all up to date with the intended beneficiaries..

I must avoid outing ...
However I work in a company where they pay out 4 x salary as a death in service benefit .
Employee died recently and his expression of wish form stated his first wife who he divorced 15 years ago was to be the beneficiary.
Difficult and distressing conversation with his widow ( married for 10 years )

If you died, it would go to his spouse. However, if there is not will the process is more drawn out. With a will, the process is easier, quicker and others cannot go against it so easy.

I see copies if Grants of Probate and occasionally Wills everyday in work. I also see copies of Letters of Administration where there was no Will made. The longest gap I gave seen on a Letter of Admin. from when the person died to when their estate was finally settled was 12 years! Or maybe this is a uniquely Irish thing!! Anyway my advice is if you have property but especially if you have children under 18 years of age make a Will now! And it will need to be updated if you get married/divorced etc.

That should read I have* seen!

Also to be sure insurance policies and expression of wish forms etc are all up to date with the intended beneficiaries.

We get reminders from work at least once a year to check and update our forms, but I suspect many ignore it.

He doesn’t need to make a will if he’s happy for you to have it all BUT if he has money or property that is his and he wants to leave it to his don then he needs a will.
If he doesn’t, and you get it all, remarry, have more children - his belongings, property etc then get split between you .and your new partner, and any children - if you then die before new DH then the whole lot can go to HIS family, maybe children from a previous marriage and your son gets left high and dry. Life has many unexpected twists and turns - he should make a will.

M’y understanding is that any case where the person dies intestate ie no will, the legal process is much longer, more complicated and more expensive. You won’t automatically be your DHs executor - á lawyer will be appointed to do this, which costs both money and time. Do you really need this hassle when you are bereaved and caring for children?

Agree with what others say, as in if you're married tyou get the lot, unless you murder him, because you can't benefit from a criminal act you would loose a lot, including your freedom. Ha-ha-ha, make sure you get rid of anything incriminating