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?

Unfortunately none of these measures will be effective if they marry.

Why don't you arrange a video call with a solicitor or financial advisor here in the UK in which your step-daughter can participate? That way, you can help get her thinking about things she may or may not be aware need to be protected and the solicitor can give some legal advice. Where is the bulk of her money held? In a UK bank or abroad?

If you have to protect your assetts then you're not ready for marriage.

You marry the person. And you give all of yourself to them. If you're not prepared to do that then don't marry. Otherwise you're accepting that the relationship is over before you even stand at the altar. So why do it then?

It’s true but since the case of Radmacher v Granatino, as long as the spouse of the person requesting the pre-nup has received independent advice and it’s regarded as fair, there’s a high likelihood it would be treated as binding.

US law is based on English law, so the protections will be broadly the same.
I would consult a UK solicitor though , because if most of the inheritance goes into the marital home then it would be at risk, because, obviously your daughter would only get half the value of it if they divorced- a pre nup might be in order, but they are not as enforceable in the UK.

It would be very different in some states in the US. California, for instance, the flat would not be part of the divorce settlement unless the spouse had been added to the deeds.

This is not true. Since Standish v Standish, any inheritance kept separately from the marriage, i.e. not treated by the couple as joint money, and not used to benefit the married parties, is not included in the dividing up of assets at the point of divorce.

She needs to take legal advice from a solicitor to ensure she understands what she needs to do.

The spouse is pretty much always on the deeds of a marital home , unless it belonged to one partner originally- I was under the impression that community property in California means everything including the home.

Turn it all into a family trust so it's not in her name so everythingis ring fenced andprotected. See a solicitor.

Yes, that's right, unenforceable in the UK, as any people have unhappily discovered. She needs to see a specialist lawyer or accountant.

If she gets married and then ends up divorced the starting point will be 50/50 split of all of the couples assets regardless of origin. Part of the legal process is listing and valuing each of their assets. Some people hide assets away to avoid this. Then the assets split is negotiated - so who got the flat would depend on that negotiation and what other assets there were. Housing needs of both persons would be considered. If one is rich and the other is a pauper then the rich person may need to support the poor person for life in a spousal maintence arrangement (depending on circumstances). If children involved then this also may change how assets are divided as the housing needs of the children are also considered. So marry very carefully is the caution.

If she is simply living with a partner then the partner should not contribute to the purchase or maintenance of the property - just food and expenses.

I know of someone in the UK who went to USA to marry someone they met online. It turned out that the partner lived on a trailer park estate in USA and had nothing and the person from the UK had a house worth a fair bit which they wanted to sell to fund new life in USA. I think the parents intervened to protect the UK house not sure how. As you might imagine they were not married for long before it all went wrong and my friend returned to UK. The ex in USA went after a large divorce settlement. I dont know how it turned out. But there are folk out there who use marriage as a big con and financial gain so its wise to get some legal advice. Well really it should be the daughter who gets the legal advice as its her property and would be her decision.

If my children were to decide to live long term in the UK I’d advise them against getting married. We live in France where all marriages have a prenup. There are 2 options for them. Everything protected that you bring into the marriage or nothing protected.
My kids are relatively unlikely to marry someone wealthier than they will be so that is my advice to them and always has been.

@WallywobblesMarried women with dc are better off by being married if they earn less in the marriage. All marital assets go into the divorce settlement. Not married, you take out what you put in and if that’s £0 you get that. It’s foolish not to be married with dc if you don’t earn much and partner has all the money!

@Edini Pre nup agreements are far more common now and they are an expression of intent. Therefore they are considered in a divorce if reasonable and proportionate. There’s also case law that pre marriage assets aren’t considered in the financial arrangements and, as this is an inheritance, could possibly be ring fenced by recent case law. I’d speak to a divorce finance expert who can draft a suitable agreement. Marital assets accrued during the marriage are another matter and will be in a joint pot.

If her partner has nothing to bring to the table then why would she marry him at all?

To have full.protection, do not marry.

@Muffinmam They are probably young and a lot of young people rent in London. It’s normal not to have money ! Not everyone gets a £1 million inheritance and at 25 many young people have just started their careers.

She could wait to marry. You presumably know the young man @EdiniWhat's he like? What’s his job?