Blended family & making a Will

[Mantwab2020]

Hi mums
Does anyone have any advice on making a will when you have a blended family. We are a family of 5. Me and my daughter (aged 8), then my partner and his two boys (early teens). We have a joint mortgage and separate pensions and death in service with both our jobs. My daughters biological father isn't around and if anything happened to me then she would stay with my partner but the boys would go back to their mum if my partner passed away. We are in the process of making a will and all sorts of scenarios are coming up! I know our lawyer will advise what's best but just wondered if any of you lovely lot found it an absolute minefield! Any advice would be most welcomed. Xx

Our wills are complicated, we have both ring fenced for our respective children what we came into the relationship with, my house being worth sufficiently more than his property. Our soon to be joint property have the % of equity I put in to my children, his child will inherit his equity and the % of mortgage will be spilt between all the children. My pension will be given to my children and anything I inherit from my parents will be placed in trust for my children. My partners child has never met my parents so why should he benefit from anything they have worked hard for. We have also had it written up that the other partner can stay in the home until their death or when they need full time care.

It's so complicated which is why I keep putting it off - totally not the right thing to do.

My partner and I both have children and one of our own on the way. We are not married and I bought the house - putting in £350k of equity and taking out the mortgage which I paid on my own for a while. He now pays half the mortgage and bills but is not specifically named on it.

Everything will be left to my three children with a token percentage allocated to him and his children. I am setting up a life interest trust though so that if anything should happen to me he is entitled to live in the house - the children will get their money when he dies or no longer needs it etc.

I think you need to think about what would happen if someone died tomorrow, especially if there is an age disparity with the DCs.

DH and I both have life interests, so house etc would go to whoever is left. But if we both die, something like 75% of what's left goes into trust to support DS until he's 21. DSD is in her late twenties.

When DS reaches 21 the trust is wound up and then split 50/50. And obviously we'll review the will if we're both still here when DS reaches 18 and change that!

DSD was at uni when DS was born, and essentially a fully functioning adult. Her needs and DS needs are quite different. Once he's grown, that will be different - think of your will as a document that keeps pace with your circumstances and can be changed, would be my advice.

@tisonlymeagain what happens if your oh wants to sell and down size or pay for a career home for himself?

*care not career

@Tyersal The house would have to be sold and the money that isn't his share given to my children as far as I understand it. I'm going to have it written that his share is x% and that's what he'll be able to take out.

When he divorced he made the choice to take little out of the family home so his kids and ex could stay in it. Don't see why mine should subsidise that.'

Whilst you are unmarried , ALL of 'your' estate passes to your DD.. so half property if you are joint owners.. (or whatever percentage you have)..

He leaves his stuff to his kids.

No, you do not dissipate your child's inheritance. Simples !

To give you an example.. I rent do have no property. However I a have a final salary pension with lump sum. If I die before 67 my DH gets the pension and my D.C. get the lump sum.. my DCS get nothing from me, that is for their father and mother to work out..

Your set-up is really similar to ours, Teenagel.

This point you make is especially important: “ We have also had it written up that the other partner can stay in the home until their death or when they need full time care.”

ALL of 'your' estate passes to your DD.. so half property if you are joint owners.. (or whatever percentage you have).

That is incorrect.

If you are unmarried and don't have a will (you can write one....) the estate will go to the DC. But if you are "joint tenants" of an owned property, it all goes directly to the other owner, bypassing the will and does not form part of the estate.

To own your own share, which you can bequeath and which would pass to your DC if you died intestate, you need to buy as "tenants in common", not joint tenants. As TIC you can own the house in whichever shares and you can draw up a deed to show who owns how much.

Our assets are split simply between our 6. 4 are mine, 2 are his w.