If we were to get married, would his ex-wife be able to claim anything?

[SleepsleepsleepImissyou]

Hi,
Just wondering what is the best course of action here.... have been googling it and can't seem to find an answer that a) fits our situation and b) I understand (!)
So here it is: (and it's gonna be long and boring, sorry!)

DP and I are tenants in common of a house we bought together last year. I put up the deposit that allowed us to buy the house & I pay the mortgage payments, he is a SAHD to our 2 year old daughter but works part time and contributes to household bills. We are not married.
DP has 2 dependent children from his previous marriage. He was divorced in December 2018, before we bought our house.

So my question (finally!) is: If DP and I were to now get married, would his ex-wife be able to claim anything from my side of things? Their divorce was amicable in that they both wanted to split, but the relationship between them now is civil for the sake of the children, but not great behind closed doors- we would never invite them round for dinner e.t.c Indeed, we have had to call police due to her partner's threatening behaviour towards me.

My will that I am currently in the process of creating is going to state that our daughter will get my half of the house and also the deposit value. I don't want any of my assets, should I predecease DP, going to his ex-wife or to his other children.. might make me sound heartless but that's what I want. And I'm worried that getting married (which is what we want to do) will somehow give her reason to come after me and try and take some of my daughter's inheritance.

For further information, I earn a much higher amount than DP, but not so much that we are rolling in it! We offer the same standard of living for his children (who he has 3 nights a week) as they have at their mum's house, so there is no real financial disparity, only that we own our house and DP's ex-wife rents.
DP will be setting up his will to state that his half of the property will go to his children, probably in a trust fund should he die before they hit 18 so his children will benefit from this.

I just do not want to get married unless I know that his ex-wife cannot touch my assets legally.

Is there anyone on here with a similar situation who knows a bit about the legal side of second marriages and financial assets? I will ask Citizens Advice as well but would be good to hear from any others!

If he leaves half the house to his kids then you would have to sell on his death?

They should have had a final financial agreement which if I recall correctly, means that she has no claim to anything.

Any will you make now will no longer valid when you marry. You will need to create a new will after your marriage to this effect and it will be fine.

you need proper legal advice OP, not MN or Google.

Firstly, do they have a court stamped financial agreement? If not, then your dp's half of your house is considered part of the marital pot (from their marriage) as is his pension and any of his and her assets. At any time, she could file and have her share....although this is unlikely the longer it's left.

If that's all sorted, then it's just about wills. On marriage, I think previous wills are invalidated. So all you need to do is write a new will straight after the marriage leaving your half to your dc. To protect both of you, it might be better to write mirror wills, leaving your half to your respective dc, but letting the other spouse have a life interest (so you're not forced to sell up).

You can make a will on anticipation of marriage, i.e. when you’re engaged and going to get married in the near future, it can be drafted so that your DP is referred to as ‘my future husband X’. Then you don’t need to make another will after marriage unless you want to change the terms

@cyborgfeminist yes, that is exactly what I had done. I made a will before I married DH, but is was worded correctly so was valid after marriage (and also if DH didn't go through with marriage! Ha)

Was there a financial consent order?
If not, yes she can come back and attempt a claim. See a solicitor asap.

Is that really true, that the ex wife has a claim on a property that he bought AFTER a divorce? Or have I misread things?