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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to ask ex to put DD into his will

229 replies

sevenkeystomysoul · 09/05/2010 23:24

Ex (DDs father) owns a house outright (inherited after his wife, the mother of his DS, passed away). His DS is in his will to inherit house. But now he has DD also, AIBU to want her to have an equal share of the house should anything happen to ex or myself?

OP posts:
alicet · 11/05/2010 15:23

Apologies - that last paragraph could have done with a little punctuation as it reads a bit like verbal diarrhoea!

FioFio · 11/05/2010 16:23

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alicet · 11/05/2010 16:56

fiofio I think the op said in an earlier post that she lived with ex and his ds for 3 years, and their dd was with them for 1 of those years

ChippingIn · 11/05/2010 17:30

alicet - I read it as 4 years in total, 3 without DD & 1 with - not that it matters!

On another tangent - who would be happy to take the Ex's DS on as their own (being a half sibling of your own DD) if something happened to their Dad?

I would.

FioFio · 11/05/2010 17:34

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fernie3 · 11/05/2010 17:35

I have flicked through the posts but cant see how your ex came to own the house. If he bought it half and half with his wife then YANBU to ask for a share for your daughter (although not sure it should be half tbh). Your original post says he inherited it which makes it sound as though it was his wifes house which he gained only on her death in which case 100% of the house should go to her son.

You exs son on his fathers death would have no one. Your daughter will have you and your assests so I can see why his father would want to protect him a little more.

My mother bought and contributed equally towards a house with my father before her death. My father remarried and divorced after her death and a messy and long drawn out divorce left my ex stepmother with 75% of the house which she had paid nothing for and all of the contents (including belongings of my mother).My dad then remarried again and has a will leaving 100% split between my NEW stepmother and her daughter (I have my rejected face on) I am sure my mother would have been more than a little annoyed that my sister and I are left with nothing. I have left everything split between my children.

activate · 11/05/2010 17:36

The house belonged to his wife, the mother of his son and it should pass on to him

You obviously don't live in the house and your daughter has no rights to it, legal or otherwise

silverfrog · 11/05/2010 17:39

chippingin - I would offer, definitely, but given the general attitude to second marriages, I would also fully expect the offer to be rebuffed, and the son's grandparents, or an aunt, etc take him in.

Stepmothers can only ever be evil, in some people's eyes (not a comment on this thread, just bitter experience)

MissCromwell · 11/05/2010 17:40

This is such an odd threat. I think it got off to a bad start because the OP's original post implied that the house - the main asset at stake - was inherited wholly from the first wife, and this is clearly not the case.

Personally I am absolutely stunned that so many people are saying - and keep saying - it's not the OP's business what her ex puts in his will. She is not asking him to leave money to her; she thinks he should leave some of his main asset to his biological daughter, who is only three, and who is not in a secure financial situation by any means.

Don't people feel that parents have a responsibility to all their children, if they bring them into this world?

ChippingIn has said it all really, over and over again - well done ChippingIn! However I would like to say that if the worst happened I would be the first wife in this scenario (joint owned house paid for by insurance policy) and if my husband left a subsequent child by another partner no share of his half of our house I would be disgusted (not that I'd be there but you know what I mean) because:

  1. leaving a child, especially a young child, out of your will is a horrible thing to do, and he would not be the man I married if he did such a thing
  2. he would set an appalling example of parental irresponsiblity to our own DC
  3. he would certainly create trouble between our DC and their half sibling/s, which would cause emotional damage to everyone.

the solution though: term insurance is comparatively cheap and more than the property assets, I think it would be the responsiblity of all the living parents to make sure there was plenty of it to look after all the children's financial future. But the OP's ex seems unwilling to do that too. I really think she is right to be concerned for her daughter and the way she is being treated.

FioFio · 11/05/2010 17:41

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silverfrog · 11/05/2010 17:43

oh, definitely, fio. My stepfather was great too.

ANd i am a fantastic stepmother, natch

BUt honestly, there is no way I'd be taken up on any offer to house dh's children. Hell would freeze over before their relatives let that happen (and actually, prob some of dh's other relatives too)

ChippingIn · 11/05/2010 17:44

activate the house did NOT belong to the Mother, it was jointly owned by the OP's EX and his wife - the balance of the mortgage was paid off by an endowment when she died.

Thus the fair thing to do is - her half goes to her DS and the Ex's half gets split between his 2 children - so DS gets 75% and DD 25%. Any other assets (doesn't sound like any though) split 50/50.

Fernie - it's a shame your Mum didn't ringfence your share It's even more sad that she needed to have Do you have any contact with your Dad now?

activate · 11/05/2010 17:46

ah fuck off with your face will you - I responded to the OP where she said that and missed the update

I do find that face incredibly irritating and rude so have stooped to your level

FioFio · 11/05/2010 17:46

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FioFio · 11/05/2010 17:47

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activate · 11/05/2010 17:50

shan't

sticks out tongue

foul language is wonderfully freeing - and expressive when used in moderation

and I can't say it out loud

FioFio · 11/05/2010 17:55

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ChippingIn · 11/05/2010 18:04

Activate - if you actually read the OP it only says he inherited a house after she died - it could have been inherited from someone else.

I find it irritating and rude when people don't bother to read the thread before posting - then post shite - but I didn't tell you to fuck off.

Why can't you say it out loud - will your parents ground you?

Kathyjelly · 11/05/2010 18:07

I understand and sympathise with your motives but YABU.

Firstly it's your ex's house and up to him what he does with it and secondly if the house was paid for by the boy's mum or her endowment), then morally I think the son has a greater claim. But that's up to your ex..

Having said that, if your ex does not have to pay a mortgage, I imagine he can afford to provide for his daughter through a life insurance policy. And your daughter has you, whereas the boy does not have a mother.

Split families lead to so many of these quandries yet it's quite easy to deal with legally.

LadyBiscuit · 11/05/2010 19:13

fernie3 And I bet you never expected your dad to behave like that either. The men I am talking about (with the exception of my friend's dad with the 5 kids who left them when she was 5) were married for 30 years+. As far as their children knew they were happily married. But when a younger woman came along, they sold their wives' memories down the swannee

Don't ever make the mistake of thinking your dad would never behave like that - I cannot believe it of either of the men I know.

MyFriendGouda · 11/05/2010 19:42

For Gawds sake you lot, the poor blokes not even dead yet !!

ChippingIn · 11/05/2010 23:57

MFG - well, it's a bit late for him to change his will once he is!!

sevenkeystomysoul · 12/05/2010 01:07

Goodness, what have I started?! Firstly, this thread has gone off on many tangents and I am making no observation on the different opinions and experiences recounted here, but will attempt to justify/clarify my original post. I posted on AIBU because there was, to my mind, the possibility I was being unreasonable - it's very easy to get wrapped up in your own child's welfare and not to see the bigger picture. I was presenting a situation and was entirely prepared to be told I was BU. However, I was not prepared for the hatred and vitriol with which I was told it, and, to my mind, it was entirely uneccessary to call me vile, grasping etc, when I am simply trying to look out for my child. Yes, I did have a 'tizzy' as someone, quite charmingly, put it, because I'd had enough of the completely unjustifiable kicking I was getting from the same little posse of posters again and again. And yes, even though everyone on here is anonymous, the posters were so vitriolic and savage it did feel like a 'personal' attack. So, I stand by my original premise that some posters on here should probably seek help for their issues, rather than venting their anger on MN.

Anyway, if it makes anyone feel better, which I doubt, the house, in itself, is not an issue. In fact, my op was badly thought out (but even so, I still maintain it didn't deserve the response it received), particularly the 'equal share' part. I focused on the house because it is ex's greatest financial asset, and, as ex considers it his own 'asset', rather than his DS's birthright, I guess I have come to see it that way too. Case in point, it was ex who suggested we both sell our properties and buy somewhere new, not the actions of a man trying to preserve a birthright for his son. I don't want DD to gain at the expense of ex's DS, but neither do I want DD to ever feel that she is somehow less valued by her father than her brother. And yes, I did put money into the house, rather a lot of money, but this is not about my money, this is about a little girl who is going to grow up and realise that her Daddy doesn't put her first (sadly, his DS already knows this about his Dad) and I don't want that realisation compounded by a document in a solicitors office. So, thank you to those of you who have suggested ex's DS should inherit his Mother's share of the house and half of his father's, and DD should inherit the other half of her father's half, and all other assets (whatever they may be) should be shared equally. That seems perfectly right and fair for both DCs.

I don't have much now, which is why I am working part time and studying in order to retrain. Hopefully, in the next few years, I'll have a house of my own again to leave DD. I don't disagree with inheritance if you've brought your children up to be independent and not to expect to live on parental handouts for life. Having lived with financial insecurity myself, I will do all I can to pave the way for DD should something happen to me. And, to the blatantly idiotic enquiries as to whether I have written ex's DS into my will, no, of course not, he is not my child. That doesn't mean that I haven't loved him for five years, but that doesn't make him my child, or even my step-child and DD is ex's child.

OP posts:
shakespeare · 12/05/2010 03:50

Seven, I am so sorry for all the abuse you have endured on this post. I have read it all and it is truly shocking and at many times offensive. Certain posters should be ashamed of themselves (its always very cosy behind a keyboard isn't it?). I'm pleased to see that some of the earlier comments were removed by MN as these were some of the worst.

For what is is worth, I don't think you are being unreasonable, the fact that you are giving thought to daughters future is what we would all (hopefully) do. This is not 'graspy' or 'vile'. Jesus, by some of the comments, you'd have thought the late mothers last words were 'make sure our son gets the house' and that you were there the next day trying to steal it off him! Get a grip people!!

Unfortunately however, its not within your control as to what your ex does with his house. If he's a bit crap with his finances and you don't think he's got his will etc sorted, all you can do discuss it with him, and then leave it there. If anything did happen to him in the future and he hadn't made suitable arrangements for his/your daughter, although it might potentially be upsetting for her, she will understand you tried your best. And who knows, you may be in a better position financially by then therefore it may not feel so crucial.

Best of luck.

ChippingIn · 12/05/2010 07:42

7 - please try not to take it personally. The threads get a life of their own after a few posts and people are just 'debating' the issue - not the OP. The hatred & vitriol has been disgusting - but reflects on the posters not on you, it's perfectly possible to disagee and state YABU without the vitriol seen on this thread - still, it's easy to hide behind a screen as shakespear said (the one above, not the shakespear!).

YANBU and it is reasonable to discuss this with your EX - still, if he's anything like he sounds, I wouldn't expect too much from him! Your DD will know you did your best for her and that is all we can ask of someone! With you as her Mum - she will be fine, no matter how feckless her father turns out to be and you never know - he may just step up to the plate one day x