Getting married but we both have children

[Viviennethebeautiful]

Partner and I want to get married. It makes financial sense as we both have valuable final salary pensions. Whoever survives the other receives half the deceased persons pension every month until they die. This money can’t be left to children or anyone else. If we die unmarried the money stays in the pension fund.
However there are houses and other assets we want to protect for our respective children. Can this be done by will alone?

Yes. You can leave any assets you want directly to your children (provided you make reasonable provision for your partner). Alternatively, you can give your partner a life interest in your assets with them going to your children when he dies.

Thank you so much. How do you leave a life interest? Is it in the will? Can you make sure they don’t deplete the asset to an unreasonable degree?
We are both already retired. He is older and has more assets (I have a reasonable amount but was married to a con man so savings are less) but our pensions are of equal value and would benefit the surviving partner by a significant amount each month.
Really grateful for any help

Yes, in the will. If you leave a life interest to your partner, they cannot touch the capital. If the asset is a property, they can sell it and use the capital to buy another property or invest the capital, but the capital must be kept intact and will pass according to your will when he dies.

It's a really good idea. What's your situation with housing at the moment? Do you both keep separate accounts for everything at the moment? Do you live together?

We each have a house but are likely to move into one and rent the other. They are in the same road so no relocation issues. We currently each pay all our own bills but do have a joint account for food and going out.

I’m just wondering that the beneficiaries of the spouse without the rented house will be disadvantaged as they will not be able to realise their inheritance even though the widow /er will still have their own house plus the beneficial interest in their deceased spouse house.
That does seem a bit unfair to me.

Good point. We could put both houses into joint ownership. They are v similar in value

@ViviennethebeautifulI

I might be wrong but if you sell one of the houses (not your main residence) after you marry, but before you both die, would there not be capital gains tax to pay? If the property isn’t really needed, might an early sale be better than renting if out? Depends if if increases in value regarding the tax though. Others will know more than me.,

It would be well worth getting advice from an estate planning expert. So many people get this badly wrong and children and dependents lose out.

Do you have to be married to nominate a partner in your pension scheme? I'm pretty sure you can nominate anyone although pension scheme may decline

When you are already retired, can you alter your nominations? The implication is the OP and her future husband are drawing their pensions.

Especially as they have final salary pensions which are more or less extinct now.

Sorry to add in another consideration. Lawyer here. You also need to consider what happens if you divorce. In that situation I’m sure you wouldn’t any of your assets going to your partner in a financial order rather then your children. Your partner the same.

You need to sit down with a good solicitor (reputable high street with a family and estate planning department). You’ll both want a good pre-nup and also a well thought out will.

Remember with wills they could always be changed (although it sounds like you are alive to this fact because you aren’t planning to just leave everything to your spouse and going “I’m sure he will leave money to the kids”).

Thank you for all the responses they are very helpful.

We do need to consult estate planners I think. The pensions are already being accessed so if we died unmarried there is no onward nomination. The pension just ceases.

The regulations of our particular pension (we are member of the same scheme) only allows for a spouse to continue to benefit no one else.

If we got to the point of considering divorce would it have any legal ramifications if our will leave our respective resources to our children?. I can see a new will being needed to remove the life time benefit. Is there anything else to consider?

Thank you everyone for helping me think this through.

Oh and thanks for the wills being changed point. I always shudder when people talk about mirror wills. One party could walk out of the solicitors office having signed one and walk back in an hour later to change theirs without the other having a clue.
Can you tell I am scarred by my previous marriage

Wills also take Inheritance Tax into account. If you have substantial estates this informs wills and estate planning.

@Viviennethebeautiful so I can envisage you could try and argue in a divorce court that your wills represented your agreement to what should happen in the future, but it would be hard. Also remember needs trump anything else. So even where people have assets which are non-matrimonial courts will dip in to meet needs.

Thank you again, for the extra thoughts. I am not worried about need as I have less than my partner. He wouldn’t be able to demonstrate need for a share of mine but I would also struggle to prove a need for his (and wouldn’t want to)
If any one is lucky enough to have final salary pensions it is worth knowing even if you marry after retirement you still get half your spouses pension if they die before you.

Sorry the above may only apply to public sector pensions

Second marriages where there are children are a real minefield. I know so many people who have lost homes, property, treasured possessions, not only because wills and estate planning hasn't been done, but because a surviving partner has changed everything again.
Getting the estate planning absolutely water tight is so important and it is worth paying a specialist firm to do it properly.