Wills

[Fio2020]

I am living with my partner and I have an adult son to a previous marriage.

I sold my house and I invested some of the money in BTL properties and took out small mortgages on them. In order to have these mortgages I had to put my partners name on the mortgages. One o these BTL mortgages was paid off after 3 years. The tenants rent pay for the mortgages until some of my investments came up and I paid one of the BTL mortgages off. I also put down 25% for the deposit on a new house for myself and my partner to live in. My partner never had any money to contribute towards the deposit and lived in rental accommodation. We both now live in our own home and he does earn 3 times my salary and is the main contributor to the house earning with having the larger salary. We both put money into an everyday joint account and everything is great between us.

The problem is that every time i bring up the idea of a Will he becomes all hurt and thinks I am trying to cut him out, which is not the case. But he wont come up will any suggestions how he would like the Will to look like.

He has no children or siblings and I have an adult son to a previous marriage. This is how I want the Will to look like if it is possible. (i would like some advice on this) I know this will sound petty to some people, but I need to look after my son.

I would like my partner to be the main inheritance and live a comfortable life, as possible, but I would like a clause that states that everything will be in my sons name and when my partner dies my son will inherit everything. I have invested heavily monetary wise in this relationship and even though my partner is paying the bulk of the mortgage for the past 2.5 years the mortgage which is under £500 pcm, this is because I negotiated the majority of the mortgage on interest only. I will be able to pay a substantial amount of the mortgage off in 2.5 years time of my own money. If we need to we could selling the BTL and this will easily pay off any additional amount and still be left with some money.

I know this sounds all me, me, me, but you can't be stupid with money. I don't earn a great deal and always had to be financially careful. It is really important that people leave a precise Will as the problems that comes with not leaving one is immense. I am already involved in a court case where a Will is being contested, not by me but a friends son, my friend unfortunately passed away 3 years ago and her son is fighting with his uncle over her estate. Her Will was ambiguous and has led to this long legal battle. I do not want this to happen with my estate. The distress over this legal battle has had a massive emotional and now turned physical distress on my health and the devastating impact it has had on her son, who is only like mine is in his mid 20's.

I know if I do I don't leave a precise Will things can get messy and if he dies first and doesn't leave a Will his cousins will be in like a pack of vultures after his death grabbing what they can, which was the case after the death of his grandmother and one of his cousins got everything and he got nothing not even a photo. His grandmother never left a Will and my partner never contested anything and then left it too late to ask for a momentum as everything had gone.

This is what I want: When I die I want firstly for my partner to be financially secure, but if I don't leave a clause for my son I am worried that if my partner gets involves with someone else (I do not have a problem with that) and then decides to changes his Will not making my son his sole inheritor then my son will not inherit anything after my partners death. Or if he marries his wife will inherit everything.

My partner's when I try to talk to him about it becomes very defensive and then he starts to gas light and deliberately tries to misinterpret what I have said. He says all I saying is "what is mine is yours and what is yours is yours sons." It is in fact what I am saying "what is yours is mine, what is mine is yours and what is both of ours is my sons."

Should I just make out a Will without his knowledge stating when I die that it should be shared equally. I would ask my son and get him to sign something stating he can't claim his half until my partners has died or has made a committed relationship to someone else. If I tell my partner that I have done this I am afraid this will put a wedge in our relationship as he is very oversensitive. I am also concerned if he dies first and hasn't left a Will. Would getting married ease this problem? It would for me if dies first, but I am the one with some health issues.

Sorry for the rambling, but other people must be in similar

predicaments.

I haven’t read your whole thread, but please just put it all in your son’s name. Now.
I had a relative whose new husband stopped her making a will, saying he’d see her kids alright. She died unexpectedly and he took the lot.
‘Make a Will appointment today. It’s your business, not his.

Thank you for your reply. When it comes to money an inheritance the horns come out of people and their goodwill is put into question. I just want to try and make everyone happy, but I don't know if this is possible.

Thank you again for your support.

I'm hope this doesn't sound harsh but a relationship that cannot withstand your decision to make a will does not sound a healthy one. You absolutely must get on with writing a will asap. It's completely unreasonable to even consider not writing a will in any circumstance.

You don't need his permission to make your will, just go do it. Explain to the solicitor what you want to happen and then let them sort out the best way of doing it. Do you want your partner to be able to live out his life in your house or stay for a couple of years? The solicitor will go through this with you.

If you want provision to be made for your son then you have to do it. If you both made wills leaving everything to each other with the understanding that then everything would go to your son and you died first your husband could then make another will in which your son did not feature. Leave him out of it, you can dispose of your assets how you like, he can do what he likes.

It's not your job to make everyone happy

You do not need your partner's permission to make a will. However the vital piece of information you omitted is how you own the properties - in your sole name, his, in joint names which is known as "joint tenants" (which means that unless the joint tenancy is severed the survivor inherits) or as tenants in common (where each portion can be disposed of under a will separately or is not automatically inherited by survivor.). You need to seek proper legal advice, promptly and will probably find it cheaper and easier if you take some time beforehand write down precise details of each property purchase/mortgage/outgoings and who has paid what. If you hold properties as sole proprietor/joint mortgage or as tenants in common you can leave the property (or your share) however you wish in your will. It is common for TIC to leave a life interest in their share to a surviving spouse and thereafter to other beneficiaries.

Also, think carefully before you pay off a mortgage if that property is owned as joint tenants and the repayment comes from your solely owned asset as you are effectively gifting that capital to your husband and, while I assume he has many great personal qualities that endear him to you, he doesn't appear to have brought any capital to the marriage or to understand your natural maternal desire to leave assets to your son (while making provision for him for as long as he needs it)

Please take advice and make a will.
It is no good coming here with a list of requirements; having thought this out, this is exactly what you should take to a solicitor and not a will writing company, in your case. The solicitor will need to ask a lot of questions.
I urge you to do this asap.
Good luck!

Are the properties all in joint names?

If you die first you can't expect your partner to leave anything to your son if you leave it all to your partner in the first instance.
You have to leave something directly to your son in your will.
You could create trusts and name your son as a beneficiary.
You need proper legal advice asap.

The issue of both names on the mortgage is a very serious one. You need to sort that out now. As pp said you must make sure you are tenants in common and the property is divided appropriately according to the amount you and your DH invested.

You need to see a solicitor. In situations such as this you have to put sentiment and emotion to one side and treat this as a business transaction so that your wishes will be carried out in the event if your death.

Other people's happiness is irrelevant.

This man is not your husband so can do as he wishes towards your son. I would not pay 1p off the mortgage until you clarify ownership and who gets your estate upon your death. He seems a bit grabbing to me and his unwillingness to discuss this is a red flag.

I would add that even if this man and the OP were married, he would be under no obligation to leave anything to her son, and as her son is not a blood relative he would, as I understand it, have next to no chance of contesting the partner's will. As everyone else has said, see a solicitor asap.

Go to a solicitor now, make your will and ignore your partner’s whining. A solicitor will ensure that your will achieves what you want.
He can’t stop you making a will ffs.

Yes, I know the partner would not be obliged to leave anything to her son, but at the moment the op would not even maximise their IHT allowance either as they are two individuals. Therefore she should consider her DS as the main beneficiary as he’s family.

OP, make sure whoever you see is a qualified estate and IHT management adviser as well as a solicitor. Even qualified solicitors have been known to give incorrect advice around estate management.

Excellent advice on here. It is incredibly difficult to force another person to leave their money to someone. You could draw up a Trust, but there is still a lot that can go wrong.

By all means leave money to your partner, but please ensure your son also inherits. If necessary change the ownership of your BTLs. If you want your son to inherit your property then leave it to him when you die.

Make sure the buy to lets are totally in your ownership if you can, if not tenants in common with your partner holding a small share if he has paid mortgages on them. Hopefully you can buy out any equity of your partners from the buy to lets by putting that share into your home. Then leave the buy to lets to your son in your will and your home that you share with your partner to your partner.

This provides a clean break on your death and doesn't rely on your partner to honour your wishes. It also avoids the possibility that your son pre-deceases your partner or is an old man by the time he gets his inheritance. I expect your son would rather get 300k at 40 than 700k at 70 (or whatever the figures would be).

Buy to let’s might attract CGT too on transfer or sale. So lots to think about.