Inheritance from DF that isn't on birth certificate

[whateveryouwanttocallme]

I'm posting for a very close friend of mine on here as she just asked me this over text and we've tried to find answers online but can't find a solid answer anywhere! She found out through another friend that her ex who is the DF of their daughter(now 15yo) passed away a few days ago. They were never in a relationship, it was a fling/friends with benefits and she ended up getting pregnant and found out after they broke it off. He knew, paid child maintenance and did a DNA test to confirm paternity but wasn't involved and therefore never knew or met the daughter. He's not listed on the birth certificate. He then got married and had 2 more children with his wife. She's wondering if her daughter would get some of his inheritance?

Was she in his will?

She said earlier that she's not sure if he even had a will. If he did, I personally don't think she would be listed.

If there was a will - it depends if she was in it or eg if it just said "my children" rather than naming them specifically.

If he died without a will, then certainly in England and Wales she would inherit an equal share with the other children - but the first £270k would go to the wife anyway so only of half of what is left, if anything.

Your friend would have to take legal advice as to whether she could claim on the estate as a dependent who should have been provided for if she was not in the will - not something to undertake lightly.

Different rules apply in other jurisdictions!

You’d have to get a solicitor involved to prove paternity, which should be straight forward if he had a DNA test and paid maintenance. It’s unlikely that she would get an inheritance though - if he hasn’t left a will then everything goes to his wife. Even the children he had with his wife won’t inherit anything unless it was specifically willed to them.

I think you could challenge a will because your daughter was his dependant if she's not been left anything but of course that would depend on how much he had to leave. I wonder if she could write to the wife and ask if she felt that her husband would at least wish to leave her the equivalent sum of child maintenance up until her child was 18?

It depends what his will says

Thank you @GolfForBrains . Does this apply for just his money? What about cars, house, etc.? (Given that there is no will). She also believes he had life insurance as he had this when she met him.

I wonder if she could write to the wife and ask if she felt that her husband would at least wish to leave her the equivalent sum of child maintenance up until her child was 18?

You cannot write to the wife of someone who died a matter of days ago and ask them to keep paying their dead husbands maintenance payments for the next 4 years!

Wow clearly lots of knowledgable legal experts posting

OP first and foremost you need to find out if there was a will.

You will probably need a solicitor specialising in inheritance law.

And be wary of what people say on mumsnet.

Does his wife know about the child?

There is no easy answer to your question without knowing if there was a will (and the wording of it if his children are beneficiaries).

Cross post. As no will, your friend definitely needs a solicitor.

Thanks all. I don't think she will go as far as challenging a will even if that's possibility. I will tell her to have a look for some good solicitors in our area that's specialises in this.

@AnotherEmma no, it's my fault! I worded it wrong. We're not sure at this point whether there is a will or not. How can we find out? And I think his wife must know about the daughter as he was paying but then again, I don't know. My friend hasn't communicated with him since they've done a DNA test when the baby was born.

If he died without a will, his wife would inherit the first £270k and the rest would be split equally between any children. I don’t know about children on on birth certificate etc though. www.gov.uk has basic information but clearly advice would be needed in this instance.

www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

What about cars, house, etc.?

I'd tell your friend to hold her horses - there's a wife and children grieving the loss of their husband/father here so while your friend might want to see a solicitor to check where her DD stands, she should also spare a thought for this man's family before she swoops in claiming cars and the house (which is presumably their home anyway).

I get that her DD has lost a father too, but it seems odd that your friend is so fixated on the financial minutiae of the situation at this early stage. In her position, I'd be far more concerned about the effect of his death on my DD - it's one thing thinking your dad's out there but doesn't really want to be involved at the moment, but it can be quite another finding out you'll never ever meet him and speak to him or find out his thoughts.

I do find it strange that he wasn't at all involved in his daughter's life and that both parents were ok with that How old is the daughter? Did she never ask who her father was?

I think it is important to confirm whether or not the wife (widow) knows about his daughter. Personally I think all his children have the right to know that they have half-siblings. Obviously his wife and children will be grieving but if they don't know about the daughter I would suggest writing a sensitively worded letter to the wife telling her that she exists, at least.

"In her position, I'd be far more concerned about the effect of his death on my DD - it's one thing thinking your dad's out there but doesn't really want to be involved at the moment, but it can be quite another finding out you'll never ever meet him and speak to him or find out his thoughts."

This

That's great, thank you. I've passed the link on to her. And I know and agree! From what I've gathered over text I don't think she's told her daughter yet.

Does this apply for just his money? What about cars, house, etc?
It’s his estate as a whole including cash, property and other assets. It doesn’t include personal possessions (which automatically go to his wife).

But remember that any assets co-owned with his wife as “joint tenants” can’t be inherited by anyone - they automatically go to his wife. The house is probably owned as joint tenants and the joint bank account will be too. So she will get all of the joint assets plus the first £270k of any other assets. Unless he was independently wealthy there’s unlikely to be anything left to share out. That’s assuming he hasn’t made a will of course.

A) she needs proper legal advice
B) very odd that she's turned straight to the money side, there is a grieving wife and children involved. Her child may not have known this man but it will probably still be a shock so this really needs to be her focus for now.

Surely it would all pass to the wife anyway ?? Then onto the children upon her death ? 🤨

@RedHelenB

I wonder if she could write to the wife and ask if she felt that her husband would at least wish to leave her the equivalent sum of child maintenance up until her child was 18?

Surely fucking not? I mean, seriously

Sometimes I wonder what planet some of Mumsnet are on.

It all sounds so cold.

I wonder if she could write to the wife and ask if she felt that her husband would at least wish to leave her the equivalent sum of child maintenance up until her child was 18?
Where is the wife supposed to get this money from? In most cases the majority of cash is locked up in the house. The maintenance would have been paid from the deceased’s salary, which he will obviously not receive.