Would I be responsible for my separated husband’s boat costs if he dies?

[Belladog1]

I wonder if anyone can help me with a question.

I separated from my husband over a year ago, but we are still married. I haven't really felt the need to start divorce proceedings yet, and we are still friends. He is in his late 60s and has quite poor health.

Whereas I rented a house for myself, my husband bought a boat which is in a marina. He lives in it all year around. He has been shocked at how many expenses he has and how many bills he needs to pay, but hey - it was his choice.

But it got me thinking, should he die (heaven forbid) would I be liable for the boat / mooring fees etc ?

He doesn't have a Will.

I have been looking online and in some places it seems to appear not as everything is in his name only. But then on other sites it appears, as his natural beneficiary, I would be liable.

You need to get divorced to avoid ending up with the boat and all the financial costs associated with it. If I were you, I’d be filling in those divorce forms online tonight!

No, she wouldn't.

You can disclaim any inheritance. As I said, you cannot be forced to accept anything.

https://www.nelsonslaw.co.uk/disclaiming-an-inheritance/

That's not right. You can disclaim all an inheritance or a specific item.

What you cannot do is disclaim part of bequest. For example, if you were left £50,000, you couldn't just accept £5,000 of it.

https://www.unbiased.co.uk/discover/personal-finance/family/can-you-refuse-an-inheritance

And his funeral expenses.

How can you be made to pay funeral expenses?! 🤔

The bigger problem you have is if he becomes unwell or is hospitalised and runs up debt.

If he dies you can decline any inheritance and leave his funeral and the likes to whoever would then inherit or the local authority.

if he ends up in debt whilst still married it could cause you problems later on. Especially if he becomes incapacitated in any way and you don’t have access to bank accounts or the likes, or POA to do anything like sell the boat.

You can’t but plenty of people do end up paying when they’re in the situation that the OP is in, still married but not living together. Usually it’s the pressure from extended family.

Hmm. On my first boat I lost 6k. I bought for 90k and sold for 84k, I owned her for 8 years.

My 2nd boat I bought for 16k and sold for 22k 6 years later. My current one I paid 41k and if I were to market her tomorrow I would expect at least 46k having sorted out her issues which cost 1k, and cleaning, she was filthy.

So it doesn't follow that a well maintained boat will lose money.

Op will not be responsible for mooring costs, the deceased estate will. If the estate doesn't have enough money for these, the boat can be seized by the marina and sold as a lien. Most are very decent (it's a boat thing) and will be very helpful.

Nearly everything will sell at the right price.

Yes. Wills become invalid on divorce.

Don't worry about "tipping him over the edge" by proposing divorce (edge of what anyway?" You're not responsible for him, and in any case he's likely to be fine. A bit of sadness isn't going to do him any damage.

Just wanted to update the thread. I applied online for a divorce today. I messaged my husband to tell him I was going to do it (he wont speak on the phone), and I explained the reasoning, that we had been separated a year blah blah, and after 30+yrs of marriage and supporting him constantly, I got the response 'yeah whatever'.

My parents are desperate for me to divorce, and have been all year, so they were so thrilled they sent me the £600 to pay for it 😂

Result OP 😂

Can you given some authority for saying that will become invalid on divorce?

Wills don’t become automatically invalid upon divorce in England.

If your will doesn’t include your ex-spouse then it’s fine. If it does include them then it treats them as if they died on the day of the divorce for inheritance purposes so anything you leave them fails and either goes to named back up beneficiaries or is treated as if you died intestate.

They also cannot be your executor or trustee.

Great that have gone ahead with the divorce OP. Marriage isn't just 'a piece if paper' and you might have had a tricky time when he dies.