Dc father has married

[AlertCat]

If he hasn’t updated his will I know a marriage overrides that. If our dc is not named, if he hasn’t made a new will, could I contest his estate going to new wife? Just for info- no reason to think he might pass in the near future.

Why on earth shouldn’t it go to his wife?

Without a will it would all go to his wife and disinherit his child. There is no onus on her to leave or gift anything to his child, but I think it would be really unfair if our dc got nothing from her father, were he to pass (and probably not what he wants as he dotes on her).

If that’s what he wants then he’ll make provisions for it in his will.
It’s not up to you to speculate on what’s “right” for his estate.

My ex married my ex best friend. They have no joint children The money in their household is mainly from his business and inheritance from his parents . He is a good few years older than his wife so she will inherit everything . Unless he has made a will I know she won’t give my children anything . I think ex’s mother suspected this and did give my children some money before she died .

His money, his choice.
if he want’s your DC to be a beneficiary then he will make that provision the same as you would in your will.
if my DH dies before me it all comes to me not his DC, we have mirror wills so then when I die it goes to our named beneficiaries or vice versa

I’m not disputing his right to leave his assets where he wants, but he can be very passive and may not have a will at all. In that case his wife inherits automatically, and that’s the point I am wondering about- would I have any grounds to contest that on my child’s behalf?

You have no grounds to contest it. All you can do is ask him to make a will naming his children.

How old are your kids? They can only contest if they’ve not been provided for and have need.

No

Teen. As I say, this is not (hopefully!) on the horizon. But she would be in need if he passed as I don’t earn well at all.

Does he provide for her now

Dependent children would be able to make a claim against the estate the Inheritence Act

2nd spouse are we @roseymoira?

The child has always been in his life?

I hope you're in Scotland @AlertCat, you cannot disinherit your children.

It'd be worth exploring with him, if you're on good terms.

Gosh, so many pp very pro the new wife getting everything!

Am with you OP. I’d have zero hesitation having a conversation with him about it, your DC is yours and his priority.

My ex and I aren’t on the best of terms but we still speak about such matters and know eveything goes to our DC above new partners. Marriage complicates that - I’d be asking him.

Thanks everyone. Yes he supports her now and without his contribution with uni potentially coming up we would struggle. Also I just think kids shouldn’t be forgotten about in inheritance, even if new spouse and step kids get remembered too! I have made provision in my will so if I die she’ll be financially ok, I just hope he has too. I did raise it gently before the wedding and don’t want to nag him, it wouldn’t be productive. Maybe I should plant the seed with dc (joke!). Oh, and we are in England.

You’re talking hypothetically and won’t be thanked if you bring it up. Just leave it OP, if it comes to it then sure, contest it, but you’ve no reason to be concerned really.

Yes hypothetically, idle speculation on a Sunday afternoon. I don’t plan to bring it up, I mentioned it once before the wedding and it’s up to him. But I would be furious on dc’s behalf if she was left with nothing, so thought I’d ask about contesting.

I’m a second wife of 15 years and dh and I have no joint children together. All our assets come from him. We have mirror wills at present but dh will be setting up equal trusts for both his and my dcs outside the will to avoid some inheritance tax and protect in case any of them divorce. No doubt my adult step children won’t be happy about my dcs being treated equally but dh has been in their lives since they were little and raised them.

Don't get legal advice on here!

If he dies without providing for your dd seek specialist advice.

If he died at a time when your dd was reliant on him she might have a loss of dependency claim.

Also she may be provided for upon instestacy depending on the value of the estate: https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will/y/england-and-wales/yes/after-jul-2023/yes

I wouldn’t mind him choosing to honour the role he has played in his stepkids’ lives at all, what worries me is him making no will/provision at all, then the default to their mother leaves his only (bio) dc with nothing.

It depends where yiu are.

In England marruage invalidates a previous will.

In Scotland it does not. But if you live in Scotland you can't disinherit spouses or children no matter what the will says.

If you are in contact with your ex and amicable can you suggest a conversation about funding the dc as they get older, such as Uni, house deposits & weddings.

I assume you are planning on providing for them so could discuss your thoughts on inheritance and see if he is willing to talk about it.

In my case his children will never be left with nothing as they are all beneficiaries of substantial life insurance policies. They therefore have provision and would have no chance contesting his will.

@ParsnipPuree it's lovely to see that your husband and all his assets will ensure your children will be treated as equals to his own children.

Such a pity you think his children, your step-children, won't be pleased, why would that be, do you think?

After all, I'm sure you also have his children's best interests at heart, as he does with your children. I do wonder!🙂

First wife beetr00 ? And isn’t it just. And in my case, it might just be because after seeing two of his adult dcs’s fraudulently take money from their own dad, one would arrive at the assumption that money is of importance to them above family. But thank you for your insight!