To leave my house to my children and not my husband

[Moiraroseee]

I have two children and my main priority is ensuring they are always well taken care of. I am married to a lovely man who is not their father but has been in our lives for many years (firstly as a family friend prior to our relationship). For various reasons, when we bought our family home, it was practical for me to be the only person named on the mortgage and I supplied the entire deposit. The question I have is, if I die am I able to leave the house entirely to my children? He is not named on the property (although circumstances have now changed and he could be added now) - but since we are married is the property automatically 50% his and therefore would I be unable to leave it all to my kids?

What’s bonkers is that no one is reading the OP’s posts. She has said that he is happy for the house to go to her children.

"...not to the deposit"

That bit doesn't matter.

As everybody else has already said, go and speak to a solicitor who has experience in this field. From what you have described of your situation it sounds as though your DH does indeed have a beneficial interest in the property.

If he has his own money then seems he is happy to walk away

so as long as wishes are written in a will and dh door doesn’t contest it - then op kids will be ok

My uncle was in a similar situation to you but they were divorcing. He died before they divorced and due to them being married still and things being bitter she took the house and never gave anything to the kids. Known them for nearly 20 years and had a six figure job so didn’t need the money. Please see a lawyer. It seems some people are saying because you are married it’s 50/50 and others are saying a will trumps it. Get legal advice!

"Obviously"?

That is not what your posts have said prior to this. This is the first mention you have made of allowing your DH to stay in the house after your death.

Without a will saying otherwise, then your DH can be turned out of the house by your children very quickly indeed.

I don't really think it's ok. Although, I am going to leave my house to my children and not to any future partner, but I think it is different if you bought the house together, whether or not you supplied the deposit. I don't think who supplied the deposit is necessarily a factor, especially if you didn't ring fence it at the time.
If it was other way round, how would you feel?

But he has said that he doesn’t mind and he’s happy for it to go to the children. She’s not doing this behind his back!

The kids will be under 18. I doubt they’ll personally be doing much turfing!

"Solicitor said that's fine....as long as we don't ever marry. If we did husband would be entitled to the house. "

I'm sorry, but that is absolute rubbish. Whoever told you that appears to know nothing about writing wills.

Please, speak with a solicitor who is experienced in this area. This is a very common situation (lots of people get divorced and then remarry and want to ensure that their share of the house is left to their own children).

If the children are under 18 at the time of inheriting then anything they inherit will be left in trust and the executors of the will are responsible for managing the assets.

The executors of a will, as trustees for any assets left to the children, are quite capable of throwing a widower out of a house if they feel that is the best thing to maintain the assets for the children.

I know. I was referring to the fact that you said the children would turf him out. The OP is only talking about what will happen if she dies before the children are 18, so the children personally won’t be doing any turfing.

Exactly. I can't believe the words financial abuse have only been mentioned for the first time on page 11. If the genders were reversed it would be a very different story!

Not correct, the trust can specify the spouse can live in property for life or specified term . The terms of any trust are laid out in the Will. The assets are held in trust until 18 or older, if surving spouse has right to occupy. It may specify that the property is sold and the cash held in trust. There are several posibilities based on testators wishes. This is why professional.advice be obtained to cover all potential issues.

I know that. You've misunderstood.

I wasn't posting with regard to all possibilities, or a trust.
My comments were based on the OP saying she could simply write a will saying her H had to move out and not walk away with anything, even though he had paid towards the house.

An aunt of mine had that set up whereby she was allowed to live in the house till she died, then it would be sold and her H's children would inherit.

They met and married as widow/ widowers so their children were adults at the time anyway.

Ask yourself the same question from the other way around

Does your husband have children of his own
Where are you expecting him to live if you die
How are you expecting him to live if the property he has called home and contributed to for years is pulled from under him?

You'll have to talk to a lawyer but if he's been paying in to the property the same as you then it's a bit of a dick move

If he’s not their dad you need to protect the DC - in case he remarries and doesn’t update his will to include the DC as marriage will automatically means the estate will go to his new wife. This happens a lot. So a water tight will is required.

You’d need a lawyer to tell you whether you CAN leave the house to your children, instead of your husband. But you are being a complete AH to him.

I think it's reasonable to leave an estate to children rather than a 2nd husband who is not their father. BUT how does that work here when he's paying towards the house?

At the very least @Moiraroseee you should have a Deed of trust whereby whatever you each contribute to the house purchase is ring fenced - and you each get back your percentage.

My take on this is if you die first, and owned it on a 60-40 basis, he would get 40% of the equity and your children would inherit the rest.

You can't simply give your house to your children if he is paying towards the mortgage. He could contest this and it would go to court.

UNLESS you have discussed this with him and it's put into a legal cocument.

Bear in mind that things can change. What if he became seriously ill and couldn't work? He'd not have a 6-figure income then.

What if- god forbid- you were both in an accident, you died, and he was seriously injured, unable to walk or work?

Would he be kicked out of the house then?

Please consult a solicitor.
Also bear in mind IHT.
There in no iht to pay between spouses but the estate will be liable if left to children.
It sounds like it could be a large estate.

I don't think either of them have considered all the possibilities in the future.

What happens if they are in their 80s when she dies?
What happens if she dies first and he is alive but disabled through illness or accidents and can't work?

I contributed all of the deposit and on the mortgage we are 'tenants in common' where I own more percentage than my husband. We both pay the mortgage.

You could do this and then in the will you need to specify if your children are to allow him to stay in the house till he has died/chooses to leave or not. Then can technically kick him out if they own more percentage

Wills can be updated yearly or even in a months time if need be

@Moiraroseee is protecting her assets for /to her kids if she does before they are adults

she may change will again then

The OP said numerous times that she’ll redo her will when the children are adults.

You can leave your house to your children in a Will trust, it is not advised to be directly gifted to them, and allow the husband to live in the property for life or with a set period or certain restrictions.

Why don’t you sell the house, put money aside for your children, and buy a different house for you and your husband.

Surely better to give them money before you die?