Partner died, not married and no will

[Quickchange2022]

This ISN'T me. I'm asking for a friend.

A is in a relationship with B. A bought a house outright 2 years ago for them both. House and furnishings chosen jointly but funded by A.

A and B decided to get married to tie up the legalities. This was a long term and committed partnership with plans to retire in next five years and travel together. Wedding booked for next month. A in the process of assessing pension values and making a will. But not completed either.

A died before Christmas, within a few days of being diagnosed with a terminal illness. B obviously distraught.

Next of kin is A's sibling. Lives at opposite end of UK. Not a close relationship. In fact A didnt like her. This is not hearsay, most of As friends knew this.

Sibling has come in and taken over. Removed everything from the house with any value (which A always said she would). B has lost life partner and seems will lose home and contents too.

Anyone been in this position or have experience. B is going to seek legal advice but is it a waste of time and effort in an already stressful time? Is B just screwed and soon to be homeless? A is worth a lot - probably £800k including house value. B doesn't want a penny, just the home.

Thoughts mumsnet hive mind??

Did B have no savings or anything prior to this relationship? How long were they together?

The thing is the marriage doesn't tie up the legalities, it creates the legalities.

Very glad your friend is getting proper legal advice. Very likely she may have a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act. It sounds like she was financially dependent on him at the time of death and there’s enough to make it worthwhile making a claim.

B has nominated A with all pensions but thinks A would probably have done parent (who's died so will now go to sibling) thinking a will or wedding would negate that.

This is incorrect. If A nominated a person who is now deceased there is no hierarchy, it doesn't automatically go to the sibling. Pensions and death in service are paid in trust, outside the estate. Therefore the nomination form is only a guide for the trustees anyway, they have total discretion.

I've been an advisor to trustees for pensions in a couple of very tricky death in service cases. B needs to make himself known to the trustees, show that he was financially dependant on A, or at least they were interdependent, and the trustees can then decide whether to settle some or all of the benefit on him.

Showing dependency will be easy as they lived at the same address and A owned the house, so the dependency comes from relying on A for housing.

Are you sure there is no old will?

He was financial dependent on her ….

Agree with another poster need a solicitor who specialises in contentious probate.

I'm a solicitor practicing in this area.

The basic position is that the rules of intestacy apply. The sibling would inherit over your friend as an unmarried partner. It is worth everyone googling for an "intestacy flowchart" - lots of firms produce these and they are good at showing how the rules operate and really emphasising why you would want a Will (even if you are married- esp if you have assets over 270k).

There are 3 main things a solicitor would look at to see if despite this basic position yr friend has the right to something:

1. was she financially "dependent" pursuant to the definition of a dependent under the 1975 Inheritance (Provision for family and dependents) act. Your friend needs to compile all evidence of their being financially supported by A - going back as many years as possible. Nb this needs to be done fast as paperwork/evidence may be on computers the sibling will take.

2. are there any assets that pass outside of the estate. Ie pensions written in trust for her, or assets they held as "joint tenants" (this is usually property and is prob unlikely but worth checking.

3. did B make financial contributions to the property and therefore have a right in equity to any share of it.

4. and 3) will be expensive to pursue (3 in particular). The best way of keeping things as cheap as possible is to have all crrs with solicitor very clear and give them evidence in neat attachments - not splattered across multiple meetings, emails and calls. I say this as I know how a well organised client can save a lot of money by saving the solicitor organisation time.

Best of luck

By the way, also, data protection does not apply to dead people, only living people. So in theory the financial advisor could release information, or at least data protection is not the correct reason for them to refuse.

How long had they been a couple? Did they have any children? Who’s idea was the wedding, was it A’s or B’s knowing she was dying? How long had they lived together?

I feel like I wanna link this thread on EVERY marriage v cohabitation thread

This is pretty much what happened to a relative of mine except it was a sudden and completely shocking death of a young adult

Hindsight is perfect vision and all but what they should have done when B got the diagnosis was got married! Hospital chaplain could have arranged an emergency wedding very quickly it's not uncommon

Posting that for anyone in or who could be in a similar situation in the future

@ph

The whole point of this bit of MN is that actual real, qualified, experienced lawyers very kindly help out with advice.

Mnhq can't guarantee and would never claim that to be the case. Everyone comments on medical and legal stuff all the time mn warns users that even if other users CLAIM to be experts there's no way of knowing on an anon forum

Was there a reason B wasn’t put on the house sale if they were planning on getting married? Or was it a new relationship/they had just moved in then? Where there any other children Fromm previous relationships?

@prh47bridge is another who is apparently a lawyer and often advises on things like this seems to give good advice

Did anyone else know about the wedding? Any other communication with friends/family/is there a booking or would it just be B’s word only if it came to it legally challenging it?
Sorry to everyone dealing with the loss of A. I hope the funeral goes/went well with the nasty business of finance hanging over it.

Thanks all - to answer some questions..

Close friends for more than 20 years, living together on and off during that time. On and off due to working in different countries.

A bought the house with proceeds of last remaining parent's death. A and B had lived with parent and looked over her for last couple of years of their life. And dealt with the aftermath of house clearance etc.

No children either side.

Decided last summer to get married but with no lack of urgency as they felt content as is.

A is female, B is male. B has own job and career so able to survive financially, just not able to produce a house deposit out of nowhere.

B understands the rules and knows he is reliant on siblings good will. So is preparing to leave the house. I just wondered if there were any loopholes hence the post.

I'm now telling every unmarried friend to make a will and LPA..!

Unfortunately I had a friend in this position, partner suddenly died without making a will, they thought there was a thing as a common law marriage - there isn't.
She lost everything. It was catastrophic. Everything was in her partners name, the house, the money, everything.
The fallout of this meant she had to start her whole life all over again in her 50's.
All of our friends took a life lesson from this and either got married or made a will.
If nothing is in her name she will get nothing sadly.

Goodwill means nothing, the relatives all agreed if anything happened to my friends partner she would get the house. After his death they swooped in and took the lot. Money speaks louder than principles sadly.

Actually going to court would be complex and expensive. Ideally B would get a firmly worded letter from a solicitor/barrister explaining the nature of B's provision for dependents claim and that would motivate the sibling to "do the right thing" and come to a reasonable settlement.

As a PP has said, the death in service/pension nomination of A's parents doesn't automatically pass to her sibling so B should get in touch with trustees asap and make his case.

A sad situation that I'm sure person A would not like to see the likely outcome of where person B is left upset and without a home in their established area.
Such a shame when a 1/2 hour appointment with a solicitor could easily have resolved it with a signed will. Now B will have to pay a significant amount in legal costs to contest the intestate ruling.
Essentials in adult life, a will and life insurance can never be over emphasised especially when not legally recognised or Step children are involved after remarriage.

[quote Graphista]@prh47bridge is another who is apparently a lawyer and often advises on things like this seems to give good advice [/quote]
Nothing to add to the advice given by RJ2022.

A should have made a will when they bought the house. That was the time.

OP, you said they were friends for 20 years and nearing retirement. Were they partners as in romantic (assuming they were as they wanted to get married) or that kind of a best friends arrangement? Has B got anything he can use to show he paid the bills/council tax/contributed to the household running etc?
Death is so shit for everyone involved and the lack of a will makes everything difficult on all sides with family/partners etc. everyone’s grief is amplified and wanting to protect those they love.
Sorry again for the loss of A.
Has B got any savings from not paying rent/mortgage he could rent/get a small shared equity house or something?

Were they partners as in romantic (assuming they were as they wanted to get married) or that kind of a best friends arrangement?

The first post on this thread tells us they were planning to marry.

Has B got anything he can use to show he paid the bills/council tax/contributed to the household running etc?

Contributing to household running costs will not entitle B to a share of the house, I'm afraid. B needs to show that they have made a financial contribution to the property, e.g. contributing towards the deposit or paying for an extension.

What sort of pensions did A have? B really needs to contact the trustees and/or scheme administrators ASAP. Depending on the arrangements there could be an awful lot of money at stake and there's a risk that the sibling won't inform them of B's existence.

@prh47bridge fair enough thought it couldn't hurt to check

My aunt kept her home (and I believe all assets a wife would retain) in similar circs, but I believe her partners family had good relationship with her etc. so that will have probably made a difference.