Can I include things in my will I don’t yet own

[Willorwisp]

Recently widowed. Waiting probate which will then allow me to put our house that was willed to me by DH in my name.

Want to write a new will now and include how it should be dealt with in the event of my death. Can I do this?

Yes you can

Also works the other way - people may no longer own an item referred to in their Will when they die.

Sorry for your loss

Agreed. Yes you can. If you don't own something that you've left in your Will the gift simly fails.

The house is already yours incidentally. The title just hasn't been legally transferred. So the gift will already work in your Will (assuming you have survived 30 days if that/a survivorship period was stipulated in your DHs will).

When you gift a house in your will, be careful about how it is worded. If you put the address eg ‘I hereby leave 10 Smith Street to my son and my residuary estate to the cats home’, and at the time of your death you’ve moved to a different address this part of the will fails and the house becomes part of your residuary estate. It’s important to use a solicitor to avoid such easily made mistakes!