Wills, can anyone advise?

[SquallyRose]

Just trying to sort out our finances and wills, we were considering just getting a DIY pack as our intention was to just leave everything to each other but as my DH has a son by a previous relationship I'm not sure this is the best thing to do and wondered if anyone could help.
SS is 7, we have 2 children and I'm currently pregnant. We rent our home and are mostly on benefits as my DH has serious health issues and I am his full time carer. We pay £5 a week maintenance for SS (it was a lot more when DH was working but on benefits its all we can afford and CSA agree. SS's mother works full time, owns her own house, has very wealthy parents and is in line for a massive inheritance as she is an only child and so is not hard off at all but got CSA involved because she thought she wasn't getting her fair share (we have massive problems with her despite her being the one to leave and me not appearing on the scene til much later and as my DH's illness started with meningitus we were obviously being truthful)
We have a few assets but not much, my DH was a tradesman before his illness and we have a lot of tools still which we've kept in case he is ever well enough to return to work, we also have a joint life insurance policy, in the case of either of us dying it all goes to the other.
My friend told me however that if my DH died SS's mother could claim maintenance from me for her child and that his needs (and her claim) would take precidence over our children, should my DH die our arrangement was that I would sell his tools and work things and divide the money equally between the children (including SS) but that the life insurance money would be mine to provide for our children, pay off any remaining debts etc but could SS's mother claim a chunk of that too or as it would pass directly to me and not be classed as part of his estate would that be safe?
I am not trying to do SS out of anything but his mother is very well off and we, due to my DH's illness are not at all. The money we'd recieve in event of the others death would ensure that our bio children could be well cared for, I obviously would be able to work again too once the baby was old enough too but there are a lot of things to consider and I am worried I could end up not being able to provide for my children simply because SS's mother is a grasping bitch and couldn't care less if me and mine ended up on the streets as long as she got her cut. Any advice would be greatfully recieved

Thanks Squally, didnt realise just how important sorting our Wills are until today. The irony being, that we arnt worth a penny alive and well

Having read lots of posts on here its opened my eyes to just how complicated our situation could end up which is why we havent got legal advice yet and DHs head is firmly planted in the sand!

Cheeky, if you want some free legal advice about your wills, feel free to PM me.

Thanks Mumble, will be in touch.

Is there anyway we could find out for definate if Ex would be able to claim on Dhs estate, as i need to thrash all of this out with him before even attempting to draw up what provision we would be making for all the DC

Wouldn't the simplist thing to do in your situation be to cancel the life insurance policy? Then there'd be no sizable estate if your DP died, and so nothing for anyone to claim on or argue about. Obviously you (and the DCs) would be be distraught if your DP was to die, but seeing as he's not supporting any of you financially whilst he's alive, it seems a bit odd to me that he feels he needs to make arrangements to do so if he dies. You (and DSS) would presumably manage without him financially just as you are doing right now. And chances are he won't die, and you'd save yourselves a little extra money each month from not having the policy.

Just a thought.

Cheeky, as I said upthread, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, your husband's eldest son has a right to claim, as a minimum, for whatever maintenance he would have got if his father were alive, and possibly more.

That absolute right ceases on the child's 18th birthday or when he finishes full time secondary education, but he may still make a claim in his own right afterwards but is less guaranteed to get anything.

Sorry for the delay, sick kids :( Purple the policy is one we had from when he was working before and so thats why we've kept it up, it isn't a massive amount a month. I would lose out hugely if he died as single parent benefits are so low, we currently get some money from a health insurance policy he had and then get child tax credits, DLA and carers allowance along with help towards rent and council tax, as a single parent I would get rent and council tax and child tax credit, it would be very difficult to make ends meet until i was able to go out to work and I would definately not be able to finish my studies, which I need to do in order to get a better job and support us all.
The life insurance would mean I could support myself and the kids, ok not a life of luxury but we'd get by, until I was able to go out to work again and I wouldnn't be dependant on the state which would be nice, as we both worked for years I feel we deserve help in the situation we are in but it would be nice to feel we were supporting ourselves again so thats why we've kept it going
Reality thank you so much for the apology, that was a really nice thing to do and takes guts, I wish you all the best in your situation and sorry you must have had/be having such a bad experience with your ex, I hope you are happy now though and enjoying your little ones

mumble, what happens is I and my DH own property as tenants in common.
ie we both own x percent of the house and assuming DH dies intestate with under 18 age kids, to whom he pays maintenance.

Legally the maintained kids could sue for continued maintenance until they reach 18 yrs but in reality is the asset/house worthless?
Surely a say 40% share in a home, that is occupied by the step mum and other sibling, is worthless? Could the maintained kids force a sale and make the other owner homeless?

?Could the maintained kids force a sale and make the owner homeless??

This is where you need proper advice. Our solicitor advised that if my husband died before his son got to 18, the ex wife (on behalf of the son) could claim against the estate for maintenance. I?ve no idea if a court would force a sale which would leave someone homeless, but if the house is the only asset then you need to be careful.

This is why we took out a life insurance policy, to cover maintenance payments in the event of my husband?s death. Then no one could try and take the house from me.

Lasvegas, As you own your property as TiC, if one of you dies, the survivor automatically inherits the deceased's share. So if your dh died when the first children were still financially dependant on him and he hasn't put provision in place, they could, at least in theory, make a claim against the estate, but whether the court would order a sale of the property would depend on whether there were any other assets which could be used for the elder children's maintenance, the value of the house, whether it would be reasonable to expect you to raise a mortgage against the house to pay them out; lots of things would come into play.

I would always recommend taking some insurance protection out unless you have enough savings to keep up the maintenance payments.

If the father didn't leave any assets, and they were all in the second wife's name all along, then the elder children would be unlikely to succeed in a claim.

Thanks, I think I mean Joint tenants ie we own it in such a way that if one of us dies the other one doesn't automatically get it, the dead persons share would go to who ever was named in their will, or if intestate to whoever is legally entitled to inherit - i think spouse gets first £125k then the kids get the rest.

Petal i see your point, but my DH is so trusting of his ex wife and doesn't think for for minute she would come after his assets if he dies. I don;t trust her, but only the insured life can take out a life policy, so there we are!. Only 5 yrs till youngest is 18 so fingers x!

Ah right, you mean tenants in common. I just made a big blooper, my last post should have been the other way around. this is what happens when your ds throws a strop whilst you're busy MNing . Very distracting this parenting lark.

Tenants in Common - doesn't automatically go to survivor
Joint Tenants - it does.

Lasvegas, you could easily take out a life policy on behalf of your husband, just go onto a life insurance website and input his details, then when the policy documents arrive in the post, just get him to sign them, or if you don't think he would sign you could always "sign them for him" and the insurance company won't be interested whose bank account the direct debit comes out of. Providing his personal details are accurate and the monthly payments are made, that's all that matters.

I say this with some conviction as I've arranged all three of DH's policies, not to pull the wool over his eyes, but simply because I'm far more efficient than he is when it comes to forms and paperwork. If your situation really bothers you, you could easily arrange a policy without him knowing - after all, its you who would be left to deal with his ex if he died.