Updating will

[Tylerschair]

DH (married 15 years) wrote his will before we met, leaving everything to his adult daughter. He did not own any property at the time. We now jointly own a house and are looking to pay off the mortgage soon. He has not updated his will but says legally I will be entitled to half of our joint assets, despite what his will states. Is this true? I don't have any issues with his daughter inheriting his share but I would feel more comfortable if it was formalised so everyone knows where they stand. Can anyone provide any advice on this please?

Do you own the house as tenants in common or joint tenants? If his daughter inherits half of his estate including the house, you could be required to sell the house to realise her inheritance. The will should be changed and you should seek independent legal advice when it is done. You should also have a will.

Doh of course it invalidates will. Ignore me, see familylawsolicitor's advice above.

First did the will have a clause that marriage would not revoke the will? Mine did so my will still stands even though I got married. If his didn't then effectively he would die intestate.

Lots to consider here. If you are joint tennants in the house then the house will go to you. If it tennants in common then his half will form part of the estate and any valid will applies. Even if his previous will still stands you could put a claim in if you were dependent on him but quite frankly it's going to cost money and will be messy. If his will is invalid then you need to look up intestate rules as I think it depends on the amount of the estate as to what goes to you and what goes to surviving children.

Marriage invalidates a will. Not always. My solicitor explicitly added a clause 'in anticipation of marriage'.

Yes, my will included that clause too, because I was with my partner, but op said it was written before they met. Worth checking wording of course.

Sorry I read it as written before they married but yes if it was written before they met then highly unlikely.

OP you both need to get advice because intestate rules would then apply and not having a valid will just makes a hard time 10 times harder.

Thanks all - some interesting points I hadn't considered. I'm assuming we are joint tenants but need to check. I haven't seen his will so don't know if there are any extra clauses in there.

I don't have a will so suggested we see a solicitor and sort both together, but he thinks updating his is an unnecessary expense.

If done together as mirror wills it isn't that expensive. I can't remember how much ours were but I don't think it was more than £350-£400 in total by a high street solicitor.

Thanks @BiteyShark, I did suggest mirror wills but he seems to think paying a solicitor is a waste of money and we can do our own online. Our finances are relatively straightforward but I'm worried we won't have covered everything if we do it ourselves, and I'd hate for either of us to have to embark on any legal wrangling at an already emotionally fraught time. Are online wills are good idea, or better than nothing at the very least?

There is someone on here that does wills. Haven't used them myself but have seen people recommend them. I think they do it over the phone and then they send it to you for signing etc. Maybe search for some threads on wills to see if you can find them.

Honestly I would not do it myself and my wills have always been straight forward. If you ever read one or have gone to a solicitor then it's obvious that you would not think of everything you need to.

Marlow Wills is the company ran by a MNer - she's fab, find her on the web. No VAT so inexpensive too.

That sounds perfect @RandomMess, thank you.

Thank you for the recommendation Random.

OP, there's a paid for advert over on Classifieds if you're interested.

As Family Law Solicitor said, your husband's will was revoked on your wedding day. Therefore under the intestacy rules you would inherit the first £250k of his estate plus half of the residue.

It would be sensible for you both to make new wills to ensure fairness to all of the family.

Thanks @Mumblechum0, I will mention this to DH. The fact there is currently no provision for his daughter may be the motivation he needs.

Thank you all for your help.

A life interest trust would be worth considering