Can I leave my share of the house to my DC in my Will?

[JamMakingWannaBe]

DP and I are not married and live in Scotland. We own the house in unequal shares of 70:30 as I put in a sizeable deposit. Our DC is 5yo.

At the moment our Wills give everything to each other. Is it possible to leave my share of the house to my DC and not to my DP?

My 'death in service' payment would just about pay off the outstanding mortgage, plus I have a £100k life insurance policy.

DP and I earn the same but I am a saver, whilst he is a spender and I just want to try and protect my legacy for DC.

If possible, how would it generally work in practice?

Leave the life insurance to dc rather than the house? If you leave half the house to dc how can your husband move?

The problem with leaving the life insurance to the dc is that then her oh will not have money to pay for childcare/ cover op's share of bills etc. When do you want your dc to inherit? You also need to word it so that any future children will get equal shares. In England you can leave the house to your dc but with a life time interest for the dc so your OH can live in the house but not touch your share. Hopefully someone with knowledge of the Scottish system will be along soon.

Sorry another one saying you need an expert in Scottish law as it’s very different to English both with respect to property and wills. Under English law this is feasible. You might be best to just go to a good High street solicitor with experience in wills. They can advise and write it for you. I’d avoid the will shop places though.

Yes, get legal advice. You aren’t as free to do what you want with your property in Scotland as you are in England.

We'll not be having further children. DD is a one and only.

When we originally drafted the Wills the lawyer said, as above, that DP would need my life insurance for childcare, driving lessons etc.

If the mortgage is paid off, DP's salary should cover the monthly expenses (Council Tax, gas and leccy, TV and internet) plus groceries etc. Maybe not too many foreign holidays tho or "teenager" expenses. He'll get somekind of nominal pension from my employer too.

Not sure when DD would actually "inherit" her share. 18 seems very young. 23? DP will be 72 by then (!).

Yes that's possible
Probably leave liferent intentional DH so he can continue to live in the house
Check no survivorship destination in the title
You need to instruct a solicitor
More people should think of the fact that if you leave everything to spouse and they remarry your DC can end up with very litt

Little

I've read about life-renters being stuck in unsuitable homes. Can DP sell the current family home to downsize if required with DD getting her share when that happens?

Anything else I need to consider if I go down this route?

Yes the house can normally be sold,replaced by another house