Is there anything my parents can do to protect my inheritance?

[userzH]

I have another thread going but I wondered if anyone had any advice here.

When my parents pass away, it is highly likely that I will inherit a large some of money.

I am currently trying to divorce my abusive ex husband who is refusing to engage in any financial settlement. He doesn't want to cut financial ties between us.

Whilst we have nothing to sort financially, I need to protect myself from him in the future.

If it isn't going to be possible to get any sort of financial order from my ex husband, is there anything my parents could do to protect their inheritance should he try make a claim against me when after they've passed away?

This is awful talk about but it's worrying for my parents. They hate the idea of their money potentially ending up in his pocket.

My ex husband is very very abusive.

There has been police involvement and social services too in regard to my safety and the safety of my child. I have evidence of everything and it has been proven that my ex husband is abusive and therefore I am entitled to legal aid. My solicitor is obviously satisfied with this and has been a good support.

I have in no way here said that I am getting legal aid because of inheritance - quite possibly the most ridiculous statement I have ever read.

There is very very little to sort in terms of finances which I am extremely grateful for now that I have finally found the courage to leave.

However trying to sort divorce and finances with someone who has threatened to kill you is not an easy process I can assure you.

The solicitor is working for you. If you don't understand what they are telling you, you need to ask them to explain it again and again until you can follow what they are saying

If your parents are wealthy enough that you will receive a large sum, they will need legal advice in their own right as to how that inheritance should be structured for tax purposes. They can seek advice in how to protect any inheritance, including clauses in their wills. Can your parents not pay your legal fees for the settlement. You really should not divorce without a settlement in place. My divorce took five years, my ex's lack of engagement in the financial side of it being one of the contributing factors.

Tell your solicitor to talk in plain English as you don't have a law degree and so don't understand! Hope you can get this sorted.

This made me so mad when I was going through my divorce. I am an educated professional, yet I would find myself reading and re-reading letters trying to understand what they were trying to convey.

My ex-husband wouldn’t engage in any discussions re the financial issues. In the end, the Judge ruled that a clean break could be ordered in his absence. He had 28 days to respond and shocker, he didn’t. No idea if that would work for you.

The Judge just needed evidence that I’d tried to engage with him (screenshots of text messages were fine) She also asked how certain I was that he had received the court summons. I said that our son had been going to his house fortnightly for the last two years so, whilst I couldn’t say 100% that he’d had it, the chances were he had. She was satisfied that he knew he should have been there and proceeded with the case.

Edited to say that the clean break protected all sorts of things including future inheritances.

He can still claim without a clean break final order.

Not true, need a financial settlement. Look up the case of Dale Vince. You’ll be surprised at that one, if you’ve not already heard of it.

The OP did not say she has legal aid to cover advice on inheritance. Legal aid isn’t available for that sort of work anyway.

If she has legal aid for the divorce then she is likely a victim of very serious and provable domestic abuse so perhaps you should read what she has posted and take your outraged tone down a notch as she is likely very vulnerable.

Yes he can, you need a full and final settlement in place to stop it happening.

AHH she's one of those sigh...

How the hell is this legal?! Surely when you divorce you should get a financial severance from the ex? Not doubting you OP, just haven't heard about this. It seems such an easy way for abusive men to continue abuse:

Starmer will have that off you in a heartbeat.

What???

If you divorce him before your parents die, surely the question won’t arise?

An aunt of dh wrote one of his brothers out of her will, because she didn’t want his spendthrift wife (she really was) getting her hands on any of the money.

But by the time the old aunt died, BiL was divorced, so the other brothers reinstated him - the ex would have had no claim.

Your parents could write it into their Will that he should not benefit in any way from their estate? And they could say why. If it’s possible to disinherit actual family members this way, I should think it was possible to guard against an ex.

we've just sorted ours so it goes into a trust, no one can touch the contents of a trust. You can put any criterion on ot, beneficiaries can't release the trust etc.

You need to get an Order from the court. This protects your assets. Get your parents to pay the solicitor if necessary. Your husband will not be able to access your inheritance if you have obtained an Order because it would be against the law.

You need to get a clean break order and then your parents need do nothing to protect your inheritance.

If your parents are so ill that inheritance will be an issue in the next twelve months, they need to get a solicitor to sort out a watertight will, but you can't do that, they have to.

@userzH

Ask your parents to not be 'penny wise and pound foolish'. I know you can't afford to pay for it, but your parents should see a specialist solicitor about safeguarding your share of the inheritance. I'm sure there are ways to do so via some kind of trust and I'll bet they're just as eager to keep his paws off your inheritance as you are. If they can make it a revokable trust, once your clean break is finalized and the trust solicitor has scrutinized those documents the trust can be revoked and their wills amended.

I'm so glad that where I live an inheritance is NOT considered community property as long as you keep it in your own sole name and never 'co-mingle' any of the funds. That law saved a friend's bacon big time and enabled her to easily leave an abusive relationship.

My parents have currently written my sister out of their will as an emergency measure. I will inherit everything and then once her exDH finally fucks off share her half.
(This is in place purely due to time...hopefully it won't be needed in tt
he next few months AND we trust each other enough to know I won't run away with her half)

They are also in the background getting a trust drawn up which names only beneficiaries so if he isn't named he has no claim.

This won't work. The parents wills can't dictate what happens to the money once it's left their estate (unless in a trust) the will leaves everything to op and it's op who the ex will claim from.

I would crack on with the divorce asap and throw money at it if possible. It sounds unlikely that he would get anything if in the midst of a divorce and op inherited after the separation but I'm sure it's happened plenty of times. Its also distressing the parents which is the main point.

Agree it might be worth a session with a specialist. Can they change their will to put the money in a trust after they die or would they have to commit to putting that cash away now? If they can do that and change it back after the divorce is finalised would be ideal.

You do, it's just an additional part of the divorce that (unfortunately) many people don't bother with, and has the potential to bite for a long time afterwards.

The decree absolute dissolves the marriage but the financial order separates the finances.

They're minted so pay for a frickin lawyer instead of using munsnet!

They are in no way 'minted'. Just sensible with money. And yes they will get their own legal advice if needed however there is no harm in asking for advice.

And men who have squirreled inherited money away have been hammered on this site, apparently if he inherits it should be considered as 'family money'.