Life interest in house - wording for will required

[Tashface]

Hi, I’m writing my will and I’m leaving everything - except my house - to my partner. However, I would like him to have a life interest in the house with our children as trustees and then, upon my partner’s death, our children receive my house equally.

I have my will almost completed, but still need the correct wording for the above.

Does anybody have the suitable text please which would state the above? My will is almost complete aside from this. I have tried to find the wording online but I am not having any luck at all. Thank you.

For something as important as this, you should engage a professional. Don’t risk your partner & children’s future on a DIY job.

What if he remarries?

Oh god don’t DIY this with Mumsnet’s help. Far far far too important, and too easy to get catastrophically wrong.

Please talk to a lawyer. As others have said this is too important to get wrong.

Pleeeease get a solicitor. I know it costs money but it's a drop in the ocean compared to the sort of inheritance you are talking about.

A home made will with a trust is almost guaranteed to be void for uncertainty ( I worked in Probate for many years). It will cost your estate and your family far more to correct than it will cost you to have it written professionally. Please see a solicitor. There are so many aspects you need to consider here.

Please get professional advice on this, especially the inheritance tax implications (including on his estate; even if he doesn’t meet threshold his estate may be liable to apportioned tax)

Will your children be responsible to maintain the house whilst your DP lives, or could they inherit a neglected house. ?

If DP marries, will their widow have claim on her marital home?

Does your DP have biological children? Who would inherit from his estate?

Another person here who is saying see a solicitor.

Also, there are very different situations depending if you are married or not.

The advice given if you are married may be different than the advice given if you are not married.

As others have said, you should definitely see a solicitor. A DIY will for something like this is likely to be a false saving.

I think he would still live in it for his lifetime but his partner would have to move out when he dies. Yes get legal advice.

Make sure its the best thing to do.
My Mum did this and it has meant her partner is living somewhere unsuitable for him and we are all in limbo.
It would have been better for all of us (especially him) if there had been a time limit on it

I am an experienced lawyer but one who does not work in this area.

Although I am comfortable researching and advising on legal areas outside of my normal practice, I would never try to make my own will. This is a complx business. It’s very easy to get things wrong with meaningful consequences.

I strongly suggest you pay an expert to make you a will. The cost is negligible compared to the potential risk.

Normally these days a life interest allows the surviving partner to move to a different property if they wish.

Please see a solicitor and pay for this to be done properly- there is too much at stake to try and write this yourself

I agree you should see a solicitor. I know someone who married a man who had children previously. The will is exactly as you suggest but his second wife, now widow, has to stay in that house when it really isn't suitable for her and she would like to live nearer to her children. If she does though his half of the house would go to his children immediately. The amount she has left means that she couldn't afford to buy anywhere herself so she is completely stuck.

Thank you everybody. I will take your advice and get booked in with a solicitor this week.

If you’re drafting your own will, your beneficiaries are likely to end up with bigger problems than whether or not a self-drafted life interest provision operates as you intended. You can pay a will writer (it’s not even expensive, assuming your finances are not complicated - and if they are complicated then even more reason to pay a professional). There is a MNer called @Mumblechumwho does a great job. I’m a solicitor myself and I used her for mine and have recommended her to friends too.

Yes it does but an 83 year old man with dementia is unlikely to "wish" to move even if where he lives is unsuitable for him

OP, Marlow Wills is run by a MNer of longstanding and is a solicitor specialising in wills (I.e not an unqualified ‘will writer’ ). She does it over in depth phone interviews and charges much less than anyone else we had quotes from.

Have a think about what you want.

Is your house solely yours and you are not married?

If you died within the next 3 - 5 years would you want him to live in your house for the rest of his life? Maybe 30 years or more? Or for a certain time to give him chance to sort himself out.

Would you be happy if a new partner moved in, had a baby with him?

Are your children also his? In which case you might feel differently about how long.

Think through your objectives and jot down questions.

Marlow Wills will also sort your LPAs at a discount if you do your Will.