Inheritance

[Idonkt]

My mum and dad bought their house in 1992, it was owned jointly by them and both their names were on the deeds,
They were unmarried because my dad was and is not divorced from his ex wife, they split in the 70s and have no contact since.
When my mum passed away dad became sole owner of the house, he decided to leave me the house in his Will.
He is still alive and I live with him
We wanted to ask if he passes away could his estranged wife legally be entitled to the house as my dad and her didn't divorce.

[SoapOperaFamily]

@Charley50

@SoapOperaFamily - how could your dad, with so much property, be so negligent?!

He is never mentioned now without the addition of (the silly man) to his name. All the things he did in his life, and this is what he is remembered for. His brothers, cousins, other brother’s widow, tenants, best friend all had an interest in me and my siblings inheriting the family estate, but now some woman who only married him for a visa has sold it all, turfed out all the tenants and business partners (his relatives) and the fallout is anywhere from inconvenience to being left homeless or disinherited, depending on who you were. The woman took the money and ran back to her home country, where she is apparently currently running a massage parlour and on the lookout for her next silly older white man.

My dad was an idiot. And that is all I will take forward with me. I advise anyone with even a vaguely complicated family situation and property they wish to leave to someone to get very good legal advice and write a clearly labelled, correctly signed, witnessed and accessibly stored will. Beyond the lost inheritance, it would have saved us years of heartache while this woman slowly strung out a legal battle at a speed of her own choosing (and which is still ongoing several years later between her and one of my siblings) and ruined our ability to grieve in peace. There are not enough circles of hell for her. I have never believed in an afterlife but this woman does, and a bit of me hopes it is real enough that when her time comes she will fear death because she knows my dad will be waiting to give her his thoughts on what she did. We know he knew at the last minute he had made a mistake, because he died in a panic trying to signal to us to get him a pen to write down his wishes.

[Charley50]

@SoapOperaFamily - how could your dad, with so much property, be so negligent?!

[caringcarer]

You can do a cheap divorce on internet. Living apart for many years is valid reason. A couple of hundred pounds is all it will cost.

[Skeuomorph]

@Greentree1

He also needs to say in his will that he specifically doesn't want his estranged wife (and children) to inherit and why. That makes it much more difficult for her or them to dispute the will by for instance saying he just forgot to include them.

The OP is in Ireland, as am I.

My friend was abandoned by her father shortly after she was born. He cut all contact and, despite being taken to court, never paid the paltry child maintenance he was supposed to.

When he died, he left everything to his new partner and €100 to my friend, thinking that he would be covered as he made some provision. My friend successfully challenged that will.

[Greentree1]

He also needs to say in his will that he specifically doesn't want his estranged wife (and children) to inherit and why. That makes it much more difficult for her or them to dispute the will by for instance saying he just forgot to include them.

[LIZS]

It needs resolving while he still has capacity.

[Skeuomorph]

@Idonkt

yes two children who are now adults, I am my fathers full time carer, I am not in a financial positon to pay for his divorce

Are you aware that his other children may also have a claim on his estate?

Just because he abandoned them (which it sounds like he did given he hasn’t seen their mother in decades), doesn’t mean they’re not his children.

[Idonkt]

@Skeuomorph

OP, does he have children with his wife?

yes two children who are now adults, I am my fathers full time carer, I am not in a financial positon to pay for his divorce

[Talia99]

@Gymnopedie

As his wife made no contribution to the house, and you say there has been no contact since the 70s so presumably that means she is not in any way being financially supported by your father, then as long as your father's will has been drawn up by a professional, is clear about his wishes and is properly witnessed then she has no claim.

The ‘financial support’ requirement doesn’t apply to a spouse, unfortunately. Giving away the house with the clear intention of depriving a spouse (since the transfer wouldn’t work for anything else) can also be challenged.

[Skeuomorph]

OP, does he have children with his wife?

[Cocobutt]

Could you afford to help him out with the divorce, considering you’ll be inheriting his house in the future?

I would be concerned that she could contest the will.
The only way to guarantee to stop this would be to get a divorce.

[Idonkt]

@honeylulu

Oh bum. Wrote a long response and lost it. The gist of it is 1. Your father could instigate a divorce and hopefully it would be simple and the wife would raise no claim on assets given the long period during which they've lived financially independently, but there is a risk. It's unlikely a claim would succeed especially if the marriage was brief and had no children but its still a small risk. But due your father even know if the wife is still alive? If she isn't then problem solved. Does he have contact details to serve papers? 2. If he does nothing about divorce and dies the prima facie the house passes to you under the will. If wife hears of the death she may pop up and try and claim but if the families aren't in touch she may never hear about it anyway. Plus claim is unlikely to succeed for the same reasons (not dependent/short marriage/no children/ long standing separation). I would say this is lower risk than 1. 3. Your father transfers the house to you now. If the total value of his assets is likely to be higher than the nil rate band HMRC can assert that this is an IHT avoidance exercise unless your father pays you market rent to stay in the property. It may also be seen as a false disposal to avoid care home costs or a claim by the wife. It also means once the house is in your name you could boot your father out (you won't but no one wife knows that for sure). So that's the risk there. If you go for 3 you both need independent legal advice to cover yourself from such allegations. In fact if you can afford it get legal advice anyway. If it were me I'd go for 2 but you shouldn't take advice from random in the Internet. (I am a solicitor though.)

Hi I sent you a pm

[drpet49]

@LIZS

If he never divorced it is possible she can claim on his pension and other assets.

This! How utterly foolish never to have divorced. He’s been lucky so far but needs to get divorced asap, there’s too much at stake here.

[SoapOperaFamily]

My dad did not divorce his estranged wife after she had moved in with another man she had 2 babies with. He thought it would be ‘a bother’ and costly. When he died, his will was ‘not found.’ The law comes down heavily in favour of the spouse, especially if your father dies intestate, no matter what his intentions. The estranged wife laid claim to most of my father’s estate, and in doing so took many properties owned by my dad’s family who’d owned them for several generations and which he had intended to pass to me and my siblings. She evicted tenants, sold them, and caused much grief to a circle of people she did not know and had no interest in knowing. She was just after the money.

My advice is to get very good watertight legal advice and to have any legal documents lodged with a third party so the estranged wife cannot ‘lose’ them. My dad’s estranged wife moved into his house the day he died, held a party there, and denied us all access. I never set foot in it again after that day. All the memories that were there gone now.

People can become very unpredictable and unpleasant when they see to possibility of profiting from a situation. If you don’t know this woman I would recommend protecting yourselves. Unfortunately it is your dad who has to do this, and my dad did not do so even though we begged him, because he just could not see the threat. He said she knew she had nothing to do with his family assets and would not be a problem. She was. And it’s left my family and I worse off to a 7 figure sum.

[THisbackwithavengeance]

Why on earth doesn't your dad get divorced?

You can do it yourself online and at minimal cost.

Save yourself a lot of hassle in the future.

[Dymaxion]

If they have had no contact since the 70's do you know if she is actually alive ?

[honeylulu]

Sorry about the lack of paragraphs. Since the android update they don't work properly.

[honeylulu]

Oh bum. Wrote a long response and lost it. The gist of it is 1. Your father could instigate a divorce and hopefully it would be simple and the wife would raise no claim on assets given the long period during which they've lived financially independently, but there is a risk. It's unlikely a claim would succeed especially if the marriage was brief and had no children but its still a small risk. But due your father even know if the wife is still alive? If she isn't then problem solved. Does he have contact details to serve papers? 2. If he does nothing about divorce and dies the prima facie the house passes to you under the will. If wife hears of the death she may pop up and try and claim but if the families aren't in touch she may never hear about it anyway. Plus claim is unlikely to succeed for the same reasons (not dependent/short marriage/no children/ long standing separation). I would say this is lower risk than 1. 3. Your father transfers the house to you now. If the total value of his assets is likely to be higher than the nil rate band HMRC can assert that this is an IHT avoidance exercise unless your father pays you market rent to stay in the property. It may also be seen as a false disposal to avoid care home costs or a claim by the wife. It also means once the house is in your name you could boot your father out (you won't but no one wife knows that for sure). So that's the risk there. If you go for 3 you both need independent legal advice to cover yourself from such allegations. In fact if you can afford it get legal advice anyway. If it were me I'd go for 2 but you shouldn't take advice from random in the Internet. (I am a solicitor though.)

[gogohmm]

He can file for divorce online, it's takes a little over 6 months and costs about £600. He will need his marriage certificate and ideally his ex wife's address including email. It would be best if he can tell her in advance he's doing it and she gives her blessing so as not to have issues. He can do it on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown 5 years + so her consent isn't actually needed

[whumpthereitis]

Yes, if they’re not divorced then she could make a claim on his assets, regardless of what the will says. It’s entirely possibly that she could walk away with half or more.

[Winterisalmostover]

It costs £593 for a divorce and there's help with the fees available if he fits certain criteria. His wife will definitely inherit unless he does this. Even if he made a will she could contest it as his legal spouse.

[bellsbuss]

Is she definitely still alive ?

[Gymnopedie]

OP I've replied to your question based on the law as it is in England and Wales. I've seen on your thread in Legal that you're in Ireland. Please consult a solicitor there, I'm not qualified to comment on Irish law. A short meeting with a solicitor will give you and your father the definitive answer you need and you can either forget about it because there's no problem, or take any steps necessary to ensure that your father's wishes are carried out.

[LIZS]

If he never divorced it is possible she can claim on his pension and other assets.

[Skeuomorph]

If he has a wife, will she be his next of kin for things like hospital admittances/pensions etc?

Difficult situation that your parents have put you in, OP. If he was to pursue a divorce now, wouldn’t his assets be taken into account as part of a financial settlement?

Does he have children with his wife?