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Legal matters

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Wills, prenups and declarations of trust

11 replies

Savethem · 30/01/2026 21:40

I’m in a massive confusion.

I received a huge deposit contribution from my grandmother. 70% of the total house cost. It was always intended to ensure my children have a stable home. I have 4 children (3 from a previous relationship, no contact with bio dad, DV) and 1 with my current partner who I am due to marry.

When we purchased this house, it was purchased as tenants in common with a declaration of trust, the remaining mortgage was to be split equally.

My share is 85%, his is 15% with a caveat that any outstanding mortgage, fees etc is to be paid from our respective shares. I.e if the house sells for £500k with a £50k mortgage, I would get £425k and pay my share of the mortgage - £25k - from that.

We are now due to get married in 7 months time, and believe I need a prenup to protect my share in the house. I also need a will.

Heres the issue. How does the will work in this scenario? Do my children inherit 85% of the house and 50% liability of the remaining mortgage? I don’t want my future husband to be stuck paying the entire mortgage and not be compensated for that? Will the declaration of trust be followed as it is described if I die?

Please any help is appreciated

OP posts:
stayathomegardener · 30/01/2026 22:19

I honestly don’t think I would marry in this situation.

Savethem · 30/01/2026 22:36

stayathomegardener · 30/01/2026 22:19

I honestly don’t think I would marry in this situation.

Even if I don’t marry, the question regarding the children’s inheritance is bothering me. I’m struggling to understand how it would work.

OP posts:
Wonkywalker · 30/01/2026 22:45

Do you not have any life insurance so the mortgage will be paid off if either of you die? That would be the usual solution if you are expecting your partner to look after all the children in the current home if you die while the children are minors.

The problem you have with a prenup and marriage is that if the prenup says he will get 15% of the equity if you split up that amount may not meet his reasonable needs and leave him unable to rehouse if he is a low earner and would need a bigger deposit to do buy somewhere.

Unless he has other assets, a pension etc then the best advice is to stay as you are but with a cohabitation agreement.

ByQuaintAzureWasp · 30/01/2026 22:50

Dont get married. Its the only real 100% way to protect your kids.

Savethem · 30/01/2026 23:05

Wonkywalker · 30/01/2026 22:45

Do you not have any life insurance so the mortgage will be paid off if either of you die? That would be the usual solution if you are expecting your partner to look after all the children in the current home if you die while the children are minors.

The problem you have with a prenup and marriage is that if the prenup says he will get 15% of the equity if you split up that amount may not meet his reasonable needs and leave him unable to rehouse if he is a low earner and would need a bigger deposit to do buy somewhere.

Unless he has other assets, a pension etc then the best advice is to stay as you are but with a cohabitation agreement.

He earns a modest wage and has a workplace pension but I don’t believe it’s huge. I am a carer for my young disabled child.
The thinking was the house we live in is a large 4 bed. If we split he would surely only need a much much smaller property and his 15% would go much further in funding that.

OP posts:
Sgreenpy · 30/01/2026 23:23

I think you need to seek proper legal advice before you marry. Get a draft will drawn up as per what your wishes would be (after marriage).
I would also suggest life insurance to cover the mortgage - this would benefit both of you if either if you died before the mortgage was paid off.
Mumsnet is not the place for this type of problem. Xx

pasta · 31/01/2026 11:51

You need proper legal advice. My guess is that the only way you can do this in a way that is absolutely watertight is to somehow put your share into a trust for the children. But then it is no longer yours.

Honestly I wouldn't be getting married if I were you

gototogo · 31/01/2026 11:54

Get proper legal advice but life assurance is needed for your share, especially f it’s not a huge amount it shouldn’t be expensive

WeightLossGoal2024 · 01/02/2026 00:59

this is far too important to ask the internet. You need a lawyer for legal advice that will take into account the legal position and which country you reside in

Another2Cats · 01/02/2026 09:23

"Heres the issue. How does the will work in this scenario? Do my children inherit 85% of the house and 50% liability of the remaining mortgage? I don’t want my future husband to be stuck paying the entire mortgage and not be compensated for that? Will the declaration of trust be followed as it is described if I die?"

OK, to answer some of these questions (not necessarily in order)

"I don’t want my future husband to be stuck paying the entire mortgage"

The answer here is term life insurance. Just go and search for "mortgage life insurance" and any good comparison site will give you a whole list of insurance companies that provide this.

It's generally cheaper than ordinary life insurance as the amount insured decreases over time as your mortgage decreases.

If you already have life insurance (large employers also often provide "death in service" benefits as well) then work out if you need extra on top of whatever life insurance you already have.
.

"Will the declaration of trust be followed as it is described if I die?"

This one is simple. Yes.
.

"How does the will work in this scenario? Do my children inherit 85% of the house and 50% liability of the remaining mortgage?"

With the mortgage, you and DP will be "jointly and severally" liable for paying it. What this means is that the bank can hold either one of you liable to pay the full amount, not just your 'share' of the debt.

So, if you were to die then 100% of the remaining mortgage would fall to be paid by your DP. If this will cause financial hardship then I would suggest, at the very least, if you do not have any life insurance at all then to think about getting mortgage life insurance to pay off the mortgage.

With inheriting the house, this is a very common situation indeed and any solicitor who deals in writing wills will be used to this.

Typically, your will will be written so that your share of the home is put in trust after you die for the benefit of your children (or anyone else that you want) after you die. It will also say that your DP has the right to live in the home until he dies - or other event that you state (eg remarriage or cohabitation etc or a fixed number of years).

So, what this means is that your DP will be able to live in the house as long as he wants (subject to what the will says) but he cannot touch your 85% share of the house.

When your DP eventually dies the executors will sell the house and divide up your 85% interest in the house according to your will.

In case you're wondering why your share is left in trust, this is largely to protect the surviving spouse from being turned out of the home.

There is nothing at all to stop you leaving your 85% directly to your children. Assuming that they're over the age of 18 then your share of the house passes directly to them in your will.

This means that they own 85% of the house and your surviving DH owns the other 15%.

They can then get a court order to force the sale of the house and turn your DH out. (or vice versa if you're the surviving spouse).

The trust stops this from happening. It says that the surviving spouse has the right to continue living in the house until his death (or other event mentioned in the will eg remarriage). This stops them being kicked out of the house by the children.
.

As to a prenup. Prenups are not automatically enforceable but are enforceable at the discretion of the judge. They can help but you really do need legal advice specific to your circumstances from a family law solicitor experienced in this area.

prh47bridge · 01/02/2026 10:03

Just to add to the post from @Another2Cats above, since Radmacher v Granatino was decided by the Supreme Court in 2010, a prenup will generally be upheld by the courts provided certain conditions are met (full financial disclosure, both parties getting independent legal advice, etc.) unless it would clearly be unfair to hold the parties to the agreement, e.g. there are children of the marriage and the prenup makes no provision for them.

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