Could I contest "D"H's will?

[MrShitsWife]

We've been married over 25 years, four children (teens to early twenties) and have accumulated a large number of assets. For the first 15 years I was the main breadwinner and dh concentrated on doing up our homes and his own job/hobby. Ten years ago the company I worked for closed and the only work for me was on contract in the the far east, as my area is very specialised. With young children I didn't want to away for protracted lengths of time, and as childcare was becoming increasingly difficult (nannies didn't want four young children when they could have a baby and a toddler) we decided I'd become a SAHM.

It's been pretty shit. Dh has resented giving me any money for housekeeping, never mind clothes etc, and I ended up doing various jobs to supplement the odd £20 he'd give me. This was not helped by a very nasty legal case we were fighting which could have resulted in our losing our house. Anyway by 2010 that was resolved and our main asset started to give a good income. Money still was given very begrudgingly but my menial job had turned into quite a successful business, enough to at least put food on the table etc.

In 2012 I was rung up by one of my in-laws to be told I should be aware of my husband's will, it was written in such a way as to leave me very little. Our main asset is left to the children, all "D"H's hobby stuff is split between two of the children and I am left with the remainder, but out of that remainder I have to pay the inheritance tax due on the assets the children have inherited. This would mean I'd have to sell all remaining assets, including the family home, and would just have enough left to buy something considerably smaller, but no income etc.

I saw a divorce lawyer at the time, and felt much better regarding what would happen in the case of divorce, but they were not able to comment on the will as a) they were not probate specialists and b) I had copied it without dh's knowledge.

Things have moved on since then, dh has been a bit better, I'm now allowed 8% of the income, and no longer have to beg for it, but the main asset is now worth 65% of the total, so I shall be in a pretty bad situation if he were to die.

So, after this epic post, could I contest the will? Would this mean it would be me v the children, not something I'd really want. This has come to a head now as part of the asset is being sold and dh is putting the money into something else which he plans to leave solely to our son. It is not going to be in joint names (according to dh, I'm planning on fighting this and have seen a solicitor again). The main asset is not in joint names, I stupidly went along with dh at the time of its purchase, and he's refused to put it in joint names since.

I know a lot of the above is much more to do with relationships, but I'd really like to get he will bit clear in my mind. Sorry for the epic length.

[Northumberlandlass]

I agree - regardless of whether they are in his name solely or yours, they are marital assets. Make sure you have a list / details of everything.
Do you have access to bank accounts / savings / pension details? (I assume the answer to this is no?)

[LineyReborn]

Your best option is divorce. Sorry.

[prh47bridge]

I know I can't contest the will until he's dead, but I was just wondering if I could once he is

Yes you can. As his spouse you have the right to contest the will on the basis that it does not make reasonable financial provision for you.

regardless of whether they are in his name solely or yours, they are marital assets

That would be true if the OP was divorcing him. If he dies any assets that are in his sole name are part of his estate regardless of the length of the marriage. The OP will need to challenge the will to get her fair share.

[NewLife4Me]

You have 2 different things going on ere, a divorce and a will.
iirc the only way you can contest a will is if you can prove the person was either

1. Not of sound mind when they made the will
   
2. They made the will under duress.
   

This is what we were told as there were people all over the place who could have made claim to the will of my parents.

He sounds awful and certainly doesn't love you if he behaves like this.
Get the divorce settled and a nice environment for your children to study.
It will be far worse for them to find out the extent of your unhappy marriage if you wait any longer.

[hollyisalovelyname]

You were the main breadwinner for 15 years.
How dare he treat you like he is at the moment.
I would hope your children are appalled by his behaviour

[HermioneWeasley]

Well, I would also divorce him, but presumably only half of the estate is his. If he dies, wouldn't you keep your half and then get whatever proportion of his half he chooses to leave to you?

But in any event, I'd be taking my half now in a divorce.

[P1nkP0ppy]

He's an insidiously controlling abuser op.
I would divorce now, it's no good hoping he won't die before the 'best' time to divorce arrives (because it never does), by that time it'll be too late.

[YesThisIsMe]

There is a third grounds for challenge NewLife - if the will doesn't make reasonable provision for someone who was dependent on the deceased then you can challenge with some chance of success even in England (ph47bridge can give chapter and verse but that's approximately it) . I'm guessing that there wasn't anything of that sort going on in your DPs' case which is why your adviser didn't mention it.

[NewLife4Me]

yes

Ah, thank you for that, I'll try to remember so I don't give wrong info again, apologies OP.
Yes, I believe our solicitor wouldn't have mentioned it as it wasn't applicable in this case.
I guess that just shows the advice to seek Legal advice is there for this reason.

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Divorce him now. See a solicitor next week. He could drop down dead, be in an accident at any point. You need to protect yourself.

[Didiusfalco]

Absolutely divorce him, dont waste any more years waiting for him to die to test the will. Gather as much paperwork and financial info as you can, then find a good lawyer and get yourself out.

[OutToGetYou]

"iirc the only way you can contest a will is if you can prove the person was either

1. Not of sound mind when they made the will
   
2. They made the will under duress. "
   

That is not correct - if someone has a legitimate expectation to be supported by the deceased and yet are left with nothing, they can challenge a will.

"If you were financially reliant upon the Deceased you can still contest a will, under the Inheritance Act this allows someone who has been financially ‘maintained by the Deceased’ to claim eg. the deceased may have provided accommodation or helped financially."

www.tmsolicitors.co.uk/about-us/contesting-a-will/who-can-contest-a-will/

(this is England by the way, Scotland has even more beneficial laws for those left with nothing)

Like others, I think divorce, or at very least legal separation with a legal financial agreement, would be better.

But remember, if everything goes to the children the will can be varied - all/any of those who benefit can vary their share, which has the same effect as if the will had originally been made that way (for tax purposes anyway). So, if your kids are under 18 when this happens they cannot inherit anyway - there will be a trustee. The trustee has to do what is in the best interests of the beneficiary they are trustee for - and it is not in the best interests of a child to have a mother with no money, so the will could possibly be varied that way.

If they are over 18 you can just agree it between you and vary it.

My father just inherited everything from my grandmother and varied the will to pass it down. As he was the only beneficiary he didn't have to agree with anyone (only those whose part is being varied need to agree)

[Eustace2016]

So assuming you stay married it's likely he will die once he is about 80 so this is all a long way in the future. By that stage both of you probably want most assest in the name of the children so that the state does not steal 40% of what you both have in inheritance tax. You seem to be worried he will die very young. that is very unlikely and if it is a worry why not just take a large life insurance policy out on his life for your benefit and have him pay the premium. Doesn't that solve your issue?

As for couples not leaving to each other my father severed the joint tenancy on the jointly owned family home with my mother as he thought he'd die first (he didnt') and our mother would leave the money not to us children (she would never have done that but he feared it) so he wanted to make sure his half of the house could go to us on his first death not to her to give to anyone else. So it is certainly sojmethnig people thing about in marriage. A friend had a dying wife with cancer who left all her assets and half the house to the children and all her cash to be in trust to pay their school fees with her family as trustee as she wanted to make sure the children continued in private education. Couples who love each other and are married still do these things to protect themselves in the future.

If he died next week and you only got 8% of his assets (or is it 8% of your joint assets?) then you could apply to the court under Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ,. If instead he'd left you half and the children the other half that would probably be reasonable provision and you may not have a 1975 Act claim.

As people say varying the will after death which Cameron's mother did, which Milliband's mother did, which my father did, which Princess Diana's estate did to reduce inheritance tax is perfectly lawful and commonly done but you can only do that if all the heirs under the original will agree so never the complete solution.

I must say this thread makes me so glad I never stopped full time work and remained the higher earner. Do emphasise to your daughters never ever do what you did - it always comes back to bite you. women all the time sacrifice their earning position to kow tow to men. We have to stop it. Yes it's hard working full time but it rarely benefits women to go part time.

[ImperialBlether]

In your position I would divorce him and go back to working full time. I do like the idea of you taking very good care of him in the immediate future, but you have to know you can't live like this, knowing he's making such an unfair Will.

[ImperialBlether]

On the same subject, does anyone know whether this was legal?

A friend of mine is one of four children. His mum and dad had always worked. The house had been in his dad's name (quite common in those days.)

When his dad died, his Will stated that the house should be split between the children. They "allowed" their mum to live in it, but that wasn't part of the bequest. Was this legal? I thought the house would be half hers, even though her name wasn't on the deeds. Can one person in a marriage own the house and leave it to someone else?

[ImperialBlether]

I should have added: my friend's parents died in their 80s and were married for 60 years.

[Spandexpants007]

Divorce

[LaurieFairyCake]

Eh?

Surely all assets are jointly yours and he can't leave them to anyone?

After such a long marriage and with you doing all the earning for half of it it will be all joint assets.

He can't leave a house/s to anyone.

[ImperialBlether]

That's what I thought, Laurie. Unfortunately, my friend's mum was so ground down that she accepted the house had gone to the children. I just couldn't see how that was legal. Yes, if he'd owned the house prior to the marriage and they'd only been married a year, maybe, or whatever, but after 60 odd years of marriage?

[LaurieFairyCake]

I suppose he could leave his 'half' (and I'm putting half in brackets because it could be less due to her doing all the earning at the beginning - it will need to be calculated) to the children.

But there's no way he can leave your half to them.

I'd divorce him so quickly for this shenanigans his arse wouldn't touch the ground.

[gBean]

He sounds like an absolute arse

[prh47bridge]

I thought the house would be half hers, even though her name wasn't on the deeds

If they had divorced the house would have been an asset of the marriage. As he died and her name was not on the deeds the house was entirely part of his estate. That was entirely legal. However, your friend's mother could have contested the will under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975. She would almost certainly have received a settlement equivalent to the amount she would have received had the marriage ended through divorce rather than through her husband dying.

[BombadierFritz]

Before he realises you are thinking of divorce, get as much evidence of all his assets as you can. Bet he will lie/hide/spend. Photocopies of bank statements etc. Get legal advice well before speaking to him etc
Tbh i wouldnt mind my kids inheriting. If you divorce, he might remarry and your kids be disinherited on his part. But if it will leave you penniless, or its really your assets he is giving away?

[BombadierFritz]

Btw hope your will leaves him fuck all!