Can I leave my money directly to my son?

[seashaken]

My husband and I made wills years ago, leaving everything to each other and then to our son. At the time all our finances were joint. Since then I've inherited some money from my Dad which is in a separate account just in my name, I know my Dad would've wanted this money to go straight to his grandson and not sideways to my husband. If I made another will would it override the existing one? Thanks for any advice!

Thats how wills work - if you write a new one, the old one is invalid

If your dad wanted it to go directly to his grandson he could have stated that in his will
anyway you would need to write a new will stating your wishes if you want this to happen
are you going to do this with your DH? Is he ok with it?

That was very quick! Thank you!

Yes and look into the way you own your home jointly, as if you leave half your home to your son - then your sh goes into a home - the money is ring fenced as half the house can be in trust for your son. Or if your sh met and married someone else the new wife wouldn’t inherit the whole house as it’s already in trust for your son

Could you directly put it in trust now for him? Surely your husband would respect your wishes and not try and attain money intended for his son, or would he?

Oh that's well worth knowing, thanks

Yes - you just need to re-write your Will. Wills should be reviewed regularly anyway.
Do you need the money? Any reason you can’t give your son some of the money now and (hopefully!) live 7yrs and remove from your estate/IHT threat. Depends how old you all are though!

You can make a "deed of variance", I think it's called, to pass your inheritance from your father straight to your son, ie his grandson. Legally its as if your father had given it to your son directly. But hurry, this option closes after I think 2 years. You can do this without revisiting your own will
Go see a solicitor

It's been a lot more than 2 years since I inherited, and I'm unlikely to still be here in 7 years time unfortunately. I'm fairly sure my husband would do right by our son but want to remove any shreds of doubt and have peace of mind. Thanks for all the replies, I'll try and see a solicitor soon.

Make a new Will, and discuss with your solicitor the various circumstances and scenarios If you might need the money yourself hold on to it but be clear that ‘Savings in such and such an account’ go straight to your Ds. Or if you really can’t see that you would ever need that money, you can give it now. How old is your Ds?

Is your house owned as joint tenants or tenants in common?

You might need to be aware that if you don’t live 7 years, then the gift could eventually be liable for IHT depending on the size of your estate. Obviously you should have done the deed of variation earlier. So I would give it to DS asap. You need separate advice on your will. Again, depends on relationship with DH.

How old is your son. If he could use the money now I would look at transferring it now rather than when your gone. You can then see how he uses it.

If you give money, you then cannot control how it’s spent! It’s given away.

My parents each left their half of their savings to us and dgc and the house to each other then us. (If not taken up with care home fees)
You can amend your current will or write a new will.

Or give it to him now.

Thanks for all the thoughts! I'd rather not give it to him now as Dad left it to me and wanted me to enjoy it, which I have, and there's a decent sum left which I may need to dip into. I just want to make sure that when I go (which will be sooner rather than later) whatever remains will go straight to my son. Son is in his 40s.

@seashaken So will your estate pay IHT or not? That’s what would make a big difference for me.

No it's significantly under the threshold.