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Original poster

Stepfamily Inheritance help please?

30 replies

Raspberryflavour · 19/12/2024 10:04

DFIL is retired and we thought owns his own home and assets from his business (which he has run and contributed to as normal) all jointly with much younger DstepMIL. we also assumed that he would have made a will.

It came up in conversation on his part that he hasn’t made a will and thought he would to leave everything to StepMIL to sort out in her will as she is younger. Pretty certain he’ll have taken no legal advice on that. He isn’t a legally minded person.

Also it came up that their home and his business are only in stepMIL’s name going back decades since they got married.
I don’t know how that works legally but OK.

FIL has two adult kids with first wife, and one adult child with stepMIL. StepMIL has no other children. FIL has good relationships with all three children and doesn’t want to disinherit anyone.

If FIL predeceases stepMIL then is it true that she doesn’t need to leave his two children anything? Everything of the marriage can go to stepMIL’s child?

And if stepMIL predeceases FIL, then what happens? If her Will says she wants everything to go to her child? And since FIL doesn’t legally own anything?

Things have gone a bit tense since this came out with stepMIL just saying it’s what they agreed because she wants to ‘protect’ her adult child. It sounds like she wants to leave everything to her own child. Can she legally do it?

OP posts:
prh47bridge · 19/12/2024 11:08

You are correct that she doesn't need to leave his children anything. And, if she owns the home and business outright, he has nothing to leave to anyone.

If she dies first, the home and business would be dealt with according to her will. If that says she leaves everything to her child, it would all go to he child. However, in that situation your FIL would have a claim under the Inheritance Act as she would not have made reasonable financial provision for him. She could, however, arrange things so that he could continue to live in the house and was provided for financially with everything going to her child when he dies.

If he does nothing to protect the interests of his children from his first marriage, she can leave everything to her child. And yes, this would be legal.

JoyousPinkPeer · 19/12/2024 13:02

Yes, that's correct

Original poster
Raspberryflavour · 19/12/2024 15:13

Thank you both for the legal clarity, what a sad situation. The rifts seem inevitable, if everything is left to one favoured child. It’s sad to think any parent or step parent would be happy with that happening after they’ve died.

Good that FIL will likely keep his home though, after a legal claim if he is not provided for in StepMIL’s will. That being even a question seems crazy but then this whole thing seems pretty crazy. Hopefully she has provided for her husband.

DH is feeling very rejected. This is bringing up a lot of old feelings. His parents had a traumatic shock divorce. But the siblings now see stepMIL and their half sibling as very close family. They all have good relationships. They are all nice people.

OP posts:
endofthelinefinally · 19/12/2024 15:20

Gosh. What a really bad decision he has made. Can you persuade him to make a will? If he dies intestate, his wife will get everything and she will leave it all to her children, or, she won't make a will and her own dc will get everything. It happens all the time.

BefuddledCrumble · 19/12/2024 15:25

Did the step mil invest a lot of her own wealth into the buisness/home? I can't think of any other reason why they would have changed into her name. That would make more sense when she talked about protecting her dc's interests.

Otherwise I can't figure out what your FIL is/was thinking!

We are blended family. We have the will set up so that my half is shared between our 2 shared dc and DH's half is shared between our 2 dc and dsd.

MrsSunshine2b · 19/12/2024 15:31

Yes, unfortunately that's how it works.

FIL would be best to make a will stating that his wife has a lifetime interest in the house and can live there until her death, split up the remainder of the estate as he sees fit and state who the property is to go to upon her death, whether the proceeds are to be split equally between all his children/stepchildren or some other arrangement.

You cannot force him to do this though.

MrsSunshine2b · 19/12/2024 15:34

Sorry, I misread the OP. Yeh, sounds like he's willingly decided to own nothing. He needs to seek legal advice as if he has paid into the home/ business he likely has some rights to it, but it sounds like he doesn't care

Lovelysummerdays · 19/12/2024 15:34

MrsSunshine2b · 19/12/2024 15:31

Yes, unfortunately that's how it works.

FIL would be best to make a will stating that his wife has a lifetime interest in the house and can live there until her death, split up the remainder of the estate as he sees fit and state who the property is to go to upon her death, whether the proceeds are to be split equally between all his children/stepchildren or some other arrangement.

You cannot force him to do this though.

He doesn’t own the house though so can stipulate nothing of the sort. If he wants half the house he’d need to divorce her probably unless she’d willingly sign it over.

Lovelysummerdays · 19/12/2024 15:37

BefuddledCrumble · 19/12/2024 15:25

Did the step mil invest a lot of her own wealth into the buisness/home? I can't think of any other reason why they would have changed into her name. That would make more sense when she talked about protecting her dc's interests.

Otherwise I can't figure out what your FIL is/was thinking!

We are blended family. We have the will set up so that my half is shared between our 2 shared dc and DH's half is shared between our 2 dc and dsd.

I think it’s not terribly uncommon to stick assets in your wife’s name that way if business went belly up the house would be safe. By holding shares she can get dividends which is more tax effective than paying salaries.

SheilaFentiman · 19/12/2024 16:06

she will leave it all to her children, or, she won't make a will and her own dc will get everything. It happens all the time.

SM only has a child, not children. FIL is the father of that child and two others.

She might do as you say and leave all to the child that is biologically hers. She also might leave it equally to all three of FIL’s children, if they have discussed this ahead.

Agree FIL should make a will regardless, but he can only will his own assets.

ETA if she doesn’t make a will and she pre- deceases FIL, as her spouse, I believe he will inherit a fair amount under intestacy rules.

Original poster
Raspberryflavour · 19/12/2024 17:11

I don’t know why he and StepMIL put their home and his business in her name.

What a destructive thing to do to their family relationships. I can’t really see this set of grandparents the same way now.

OP posts:
LindorDoubleChoc · 19/12/2024 17:21

Being kind, FIL sounds like a bit of a plank and it's no wonder his first two children look at him differently now this has all come to light. I'm assuming this is your DH's father (correct me if I'm wrong) - has DH discussed it with his full sibling?

Original poster
Raspberryflavour · 19/12/2024 17:26

Yes they have discussed it, both feel very hurt.

OP posts:
Foreigners88 · 19/12/2024 17:27

That is a done deal and obviously he wanted her very much in order to do this to his own kids ...sadly

Foreigners88 · 19/12/2024 17:30

MrsSunshine2b · 19/12/2024 15:31

Yes, unfortunately that's how it works.

FIL would be best to make a will stating that his wife has a lifetime interest in the house and can live there until her death, split up the remainder of the estate as he sees fit and state who the property is to go to upon her death, whether the proceeds are to be split equally between all his children/stepchildren or some other arrangement.

You cannot force him to do this though.

he cannot do this now. They are married and co-own the house. She is not someone who will have life-time interest. She already has the whole lot and will have it

SheilaFentiman · 19/12/2024 17:39

Raspberryflavour · 19/12/2024 17:11

I don’t know why he and StepMIL put their home and his business in her name.

What a destructive thing to do to their family relationships. I can’t really see this set of grandparents the same way now.

Again, it is not impossible that SM wills things equally as per FIL’s wishes,

Or is there hostility there?

westisbest1982 · 19/12/2024 17:42

Foreigners88 · 19/12/2024 17:30

he cannot do this now. They are married and co-own the house. She is not someone who will have life-time interest. She already has the whole lot and will have it

Show quote history

No, he owns nothing. His wife owns the business and house.

Foreigners88 · 19/12/2024 17:47

westisbest1982 · 19/12/2024 17:42

No, he owns nothing. His wife owns the business and house.

Show quote history

Yes, even more so;

YellowAsteroid · 19/12/2024 17:52

The carelessness of fathers towards their first families has been the stuff of many a novel and fairy tale (think about Cinderella). It amazes me how grown men, otherwise competent, are so thoughtless and inadvertently cruel - cunt struck by their younger second wives a lot of the time.

SheilaFentiman · 19/12/2024 18:15

YellowAsteroid · 19/12/2024 17:52

The carelessness of fathers towards their first families has been the stuff of many a novel and fairy tale (think about Cinderella). It amazes me how grown men, otherwise competent, are so thoughtless and inadvertently cruel - cunt struck by their younger second wives a lot of the time.

This is quite horrible. FIL has been with his second wife long enough to have an adult child with her, so at least 18 years if not more.

Good going for <bleurgh> cunt-struck

SheilaFentiman · 19/12/2024 18:17

And the DH - who actually knows them both - thinks a lot more of them than this!

But the siblings now see stepMIL and their half sibling as very close family. They all have good relationships. They are all nice people.

Coconutter24 · 19/12/2024 18:38

Also it came up that their home and his business are only in stepMIL’s name going back decades since they got married.

So really he owns nothing to leave in a will? He won’t be leaving a house or business to stepMIL because legally she is the one that owns it. If FIL wants to make changes to make sure he has something to leave behind to his children they can do that (put his name on house deeds and business) but if they don’t do that she doesn’t have to leave anything to anyone if she chooses not to

Original poster
Raspberryflavour · 19/12/2024 18:44

Genuinely nice times together. They love all of our grandkids. The adult siblings get on.

They just must be cold as ice on the inside to want this. It sounds like legally it’s a done deal. Thank you all for your advice.

OP posts:
HalfasleepChrisintheMorning · 19/12/2024 18:49

This situation is why I have inherited half my parents’ house! Despite 53 years of marriage and one child/ one grandchild my parents both worried the other could marry again and disinherit me.
Thankfully I am very close to my mum so me being the co owner of her house (in which she also has a life interest, and which I will inherit in full anyway when she dies) is not a big problem!

YellowAsteroid · 19/12/2024 19:04

SheilaFentiman · 19/12/2024 18:15

This is quite horrible. FIL has been with his second wife long enough to have an adult child with her, so at least 18 years if not more.

Good going for <bleurgh> cunt-struck

Edited
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How else do you account for a father’s obliviousness to the unfairness of the likely disinheriting of 2 of his children in favour of the third - a child of his second marriage to a much younger woman?

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