Codicil to will. what is money?

[at49]

My husband and I have joint wills -written when the kids were born. We are now looking at uni costs. I want to ensure that they will be ok if I am not around - slightly morbid. But you hear of people re marrying and there being no money for the children.

my husband and I own our house outright and it would go to him after our days.

if I wrote a codicil to say I wanted all my cash savings to be split between them

a). Could he challenge that? It would be savings accounts in my name.
B). What is cash? Would it include premium bonds? Or any savings investments. I would just like to make it as simple as possible
c). I am paying pension avcs. - this would be refunded as a lump sum on my death so would I have to separately specify that.

i guess what I am asking in a roundabout way is there a specific term for these assets?

thanks

[givebeesachance]

Don’t DIY. Go to a solicitor.

[AutumnCrow]

Look at the Scottish concept of 'moveable estate'; and fgs please see a solicitor.

[SheWasASkaterGirl]

Ask around for a good solicitor recommendation. They will be able to advise you on inheritance tax implications, wording regarding assets, potential for making a Trust to cover educational funding, etc.

My will covers what happens to my assets if I die, if dh and i both die, if i & dc die, if all of us get wiped out in a plane crash, etc. all possible permutations. Solicitors even suggested mentioning how I'd want assets divided in case of grandchildren just to future proof the will (my dc are early teens now, but were primary age when will was written)

Both my parents died without a will and it was so much stress and added heartbreak (and arguments about money at a really emotionally fraught time) that i promised myself I'd have the most clearcut will ever.

[at49]

Thanks. We do have wills. But I just wanted to leave my premium bonds and IsA to the kids. I thought that would be simple enough for a codicil.

we will be going to update our wills in the next year as we will be selling a second property but I just wanted to make sure now that my cash would go to my kids. This is money I have saved over the years from my allowance. (While my husband spent his allowance on his hobbies).
The children are 16/17 so I would hope nothing would happen to me soon - but no one really knows and st least I would know that they both had a nest egg to go through uni - even if my husband spent every other last penny on golf holidays.

[isitbananatimealready]

You need to speak to a solicitor about making a codicil or a whole new will, preferably go by yourself, so you can talk about your concerns re money running through his fingers like water. Explain why you want to do this and they will help you.

[GruffalosGirl]

A codicil would give you the ability to amend part of your will in England and Wales. But if it is written badly it could mess up your will, so you should really seek legal advice to draw it up.

If it is money/assets that are solely yours you want to distribute then your husband would not be able to challenge it, you can do what you want with your estate. However, if he is financially dependent on you and you leave him unable to support himself then he could attempt to claim money from the estate as a dependent, but he would have to demonstrate this in court.

Money will generally mean just cash assets, but it has been interpreted in wills to mean the remainder of your assets, wording in wills can be open to a variety of interpretations, especially home made ones, so with any bequests it's much better to be clear, and name if not specific assets then types of assets, like all my money in my current account, my cash ISA's, or all my shares, to hopefully prevent any arguing about your intention. Sometimes naming specific assets can be limiting e.g. saying my Halifax bank means if you change providers then you need to rewrite your will, but saying my savings accounts, or listing specific amounts should get round this.

[BasiliskStare]

I agree this is a situation where some up front money now to a solicitor who knows about wills is really worth it. I would assume this could be bread and butter to anyone who knows what they are doing but potential for mistakes if DIY . Not being a solicitor that is what I would do .

[Thegrassneedsmowing]

If it is money/assets that are solely yours you want to distribute then your husband would not be able to challenge it, you can do what you want with your estate

Is that correct? Surely after a long marriage all money is a joint asset. It certainly is when it comes to divorce.

[prh47bridge]

@Thegrassneedsmowing

If it is money/assets that are solely yours you want to distribute then your husband would not be able to challenge it, you can do what you want with your estate

Is that correct? Surely after a long marriage all money is a joint asset. It certainly is when it comes to divorce.

@GruffalosGirl is wrong. OP's husband can challenge OP's will under the Inheritance Act if she does not make adequate financial provision for him. The fact that it is all her assets is irrelevant.

By the way, the same is true in divorce. Assets don't become jointly owned in a long marriage, but they all go into the pot to be divided between the parties if they divorce. The fact that a particular asset is owned by one of the parties is irrelevant.