How can my stepdaughter protect inherited assets before marriage in the UK?

[Edini]

Hi all, I was hoping some people here might be able to provide some guidance or point me to where we can get it.

We do not live in and aren’t from the UK, however my step-daughter is 25 and lives in London.
Several years ago her mother sadly died and she inherited a significant amount of money. She has been very careful with it, but as her mother’s death was fairly quick there was no protections put in place.
She moved to the UK a year after her mother died, completed her masters, spent a short time on a graduate visa and is now on a skilled worker visa.
She has decided to buy a flat in central London, it is worth a high amount (£1.3million), but this is what she wants, it is ultimately her money and she can afford it.
She is also in a long term relationship.

What we (her father and I) are wondering is if she did get married how do we protect her assets, both the property and her savings/investments. She is careful with money but I do understand that her situation could make her attractive to the wrong type of man, and even with the right man marriage/divorce can get very mean.

What are the options in the UK to protect her? Is there somewhere we can get advice on this? Or somewhere we can direct her for advice?

AIBU to think we should start thinking about how she will protect her assets now?

Pre nup.

I’ve read these aren’t fully legally binding in the UK? Is that true?

She keeps the house/flat in her name only, he pays nothing to house ie maintenance,
just food & keep
She also keeps her on bank account- joint one for bills only

she write a will saying in the event of -
I wish to leave …… to ……

If she does marry thou if he’s a decent guy I can’t see him just paying rent and not build up any assets! But you never know he could be happy with that arrangement. Many young people just rent

They're not fully legally binding, but a judge will take them into account. The only way to iron clad protect her assets is not to get married, otherwise all assets become joint, especially in a long-term marriage.

I read an article on this (possibly the Weekend FT Money section a couple of weeks ago). The legal opinion thought a pre-nup the best option but points out that it can only protect the assets brought into a marriage, and that the protection weakens with the marriage's duration and the number of children, which IMO is as it should be.

You've posted in AIBU where you'll get a vast array of people's opinions on the rights and wrongs of wanting to protect assets (whether you're being unreasonable, clue is in the name of the board), also some ill informed legal 'advice' and possibly some good advice too but it will be hard to sif through. I'd highly recommend (a) asking MN to move this post to legal matters where at least it will be clearer you want advice and discussion of the legalities rather than moralities. There's no need to post on AIBU 'for traffic', responses are very quick on legal matters. 2. If you are talking about many millions of pounds, why would you not pay just a few hundred for some proper legal advice and instead rely on random people who may have no idea what they're talking about online? Any high street or family law solicitor will be able to advise you, this isn't a particularly unusual or specialist question.

That being said, I'd generally advise you to read up on non matrimonial property in divorce, this is a good article . The law already provided a degree of protection for inherited money in divorce without you/she having to do anything. Also, you can make a pre-nup agreement in the UK, they aren't necessarily fully legally binding but if made in the right way (which includes being fair to the poorer spouse and accounting for the needs of any potential children of the marriage) then the court will place heavy weight on them in any financial settlement. Or, finally, does she definitely want to get married? The easiest way to not lose money in a divorce is not to marry at all - it's not necessary in this day and age, sometimes is worthwhile for the woman if she's the lower earner but as in this circumstance if she's well off she might be better off just not?

Why an earth is a 25 year old kid who can afford a 1.3 million quid flat getting advice of MN.

Go and tell her to spend £400 plus VAT for an hours consultation.

Whilst not legally binding (yet) they are highly persuasive especially when there is a big disparity in assets brought to a relationship.

Get proper legal advice.

Go to a really good city lawyer and get a prenup, which while not binding, will carry some weight.

Someone advised that the husband shouldn’t pay anything apart from food and keep. That’s wrong. He should have to pay half of all bills and essentially be seen to be maintaining himself. He should be doing that now if he’s living with her. Ideally, he should be paying her rent, but I wonder how that would go down?! Without that, he could claim he is dependent on her for his living and housing.

Like I said, we don’t live in, we aren’t from and my husband and I have never been to the UK. I am certain she could figure it out alone but I am also aware she is under immense work pressure, navigating everything in her 3rd language and it’s always good to get some guidance on the best way to go about things.
She hasn’t asked me to do this, we are just trying to provide some support in whatever we can from a different country.

Don't get guidance from here, most people just guess.

@Edini She shouldn't get married. Her husband would be entitled to 50% of everything she owns. She needs to see a solicitor to clarify what she'd need to do to protect her assets, if she insisted on getting married (easier not to tbh).

Eta- she shouldn't tell anyone how wealthy she is. Flat rented etc, got a good deal

Is she engaged? Do you know she wants to get married? Would it make a difference to you how much money her potential husband has of his own?

If I was her I wouldn't bother marrying. But if she does want to she needs to speak to a solicitor. There isn't really much you can do from afar. Presumably she can afford one?

Don't get married. That would be what a wealthier man would be told.
Or marry someone who is her financial equal.

Research the best lawyers in London for the job and send her recommendations. That's the best thing.

She isn’t engaged but I know she does want to get married. She isn’t super religious but her wider family are so it’s possible an element of that is just appeasing relatives. Her grandmother always tell’s her “If you are going to ignore doctrine that is fine just make sure it doesn’t hurt the family name”. I suppose having children outside of marriage would fall into hurting the family name in her grandmothers opinion.

Indeed.

Make contact with a family lawyer wherever she lives. You can do this if she is super busy.
Although its alot of money there is no need to get a super sharp lawyer as the law is fairly clear.

https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

This is a list of all qualified lawyers / solicitors in England.https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

Edit. I can only post these url. But I know some people don't trust what could be dodgy links. But you can google the law society too.

A solicitor would be able to advise.

She shouldn’t get married, and shouldn’t put his name on the property she buys.

The simple answer would be to keep all bank accounts and property in her own name and to not get married.

If she won't do that then she needs legal advice.

As pp have said, don’t get married.

unless he has at least equal assets.

I'm a family solicitor. A pre-nup is the best (and only) thing she can do, although as you quite rightly say, they are not legally binding.

They are usually upheld when executed correctly (both have financial disclosure and independent legal advice and the document is signed ideally 28 days before the wedding), the document is periodically reviewed (usually every 5 years and/or after major life events), and most importantly needs are met.

As others have said, she should definitely see a solicitor for advice when the time comes.

Ask her grandmother how she will feel if her granddaughter rushes into marriage and throws away half her inheritance doing so?

You are right to warn her to be very very careful. A short marriage could cost her her home if she is not careful.

She really shouldn't be rushing into any marriage.
You can only advise her, ultimately the decision is hers.

But getting good legal advice is wise.