My Dad married a woman twenty years younger, he will likely die before her. Does that mean I am unlikely to inherit?

[00K]

I think it does doesn’t it?

My mum left some of her assets direct to her kids when she died. She was ill with cancer for a long time so she had a lot of time to think about it sadly. I don’t think she was imagining my dad getting married again (they had a long and happy marriage and were devoted to one another but he is still quite young and fit and terribly lonely so I dunno maybe he might…) but she just thought he didn’t really need it and we would benefit more.

I had presumed I'd get half when my mother died as that was what was in her will.
Unknown to me she made a new one after I got divorced. My sister still got half, I only got 1/8 because "I'd brought shame on her".

It still rankles after 10 years

I think you are being quite naive, and also conflating the issue with another one.

You're talking about being bothered about the amount of money you inherit.

With all the information we have from OP, which is quite scant, the question is just 'would I be the person it all passes to'.

There absolutely are 'rights' in law about who has the right to inherit if there is no will, and even if there is one. The right doesn't hinge on the amount it hinges on succession.

Plus, even if it is just cash that is to be inherited, many people would feel obligations, responsibility, even nostalgia about it. Are you telling me you wouldn't feel anything about the money that your Dad worked hard for, even if it was squandered or went to someone you didn't feel had as close a connection with your Dad as they should have?

I don't know if you're sentimental but for me I'd want some form of memento if nothing else

She won’t inherit if your dad doesn’t leave a will in all cases!

His wife will get £322k in assets and half of the residual estate.

The rest will be split amongst his children.

If he is savvy, he should’ve left her a life interest in the property and some cash, with the property being given to children after her death.

But…….. who knows if he doesn’t discuss it.

My Grandad got divorced and remarried. He predeceased her by about 10 years, but all assets were split between his children and grandchildren on her death (she had no children). I don't know the detail of how this was achieved.

Sorry you feel that way.
Unfortunately there are a lot of offspring who don’t care enough about the parent when they’re alive but they’re quick to jump in to see what they can get from inheritance. Now that really is “thoroughly unpleasant” isn’t it?!

Omg how awful. I bet you hadn't!

You often see on here when someone asks a question about a legal issue some posters confidently reply with what they think the law should be, rather than what it actually is. I think some people have no grasp at all of how the law works. I suppose if you don't come across it in your job and it's not something you're interested in maybe it just doesn't occur to you to look into it.

This. Why should you mother have got more when she gather share during the divorce??

Well dig it out and have a look (are you sure it wasn't both?). Make sure you have a copy handy for if you ever need it. That's got nothing to do with wills or inheritance or who's the executor of the will or any of that, though - it's only of any relevance while the person's alive.

You have no idea if the OP falls into that category though, so it was an unnecessary and unpleasant reply.
I see my dad nearly every day. I pop round some days on my lunch break to have lunch with him (his wife is a teacher). DH and I have them both round for dinner most Sundays. We host christmas for them and go on a weekend away with them every year. We all have an excellent relationship. If he chooses to split his wealth between me and his wife when he dies, surely that’s his decision?

A very mealy-mouthed response. The usual puritan kind of worthiness that goes on here.

I’m not being at all naive, I don’t care on the amount of inheritance, if I receive any at all.
If my Dad dies and leaves his whole estate to my Step Mother who then leaves it all to a cats home, I don’t care.
Its my Dads money, not mine!
As long as he has enough to live comfortably for as long as he has left, has enough to cover any care needs in the future, I honestly don’t care.
My cousin has just lost my auntie after losing my uncle 2 years previously. My Auntie was in a care home due to dementia, my Cousin said he hoped that the proceeds of selling the house to pay for care would be totally eaten up along with all the savings so that the siblings who didn’t bother with her got nothing.
He got his wish, everything went on providing the care for those 2 years plus some of his money as he didn’t want to move her up a lesser home when the money ran out.
The siblings were rubbing their hands together not realising it had all gone, apparently the meeting with the solicitor etc was a shock for them.
My parents are where they through their own work, they received no inheritance from their parents due to them being farm labourers/in service and then in social housing in their older years.
Perhaps that’s the difference and why it’s not something I’m concerned about, our family has never relied on inheritance .

If people divorce quite early, often men go on to be far more successful and earn a lot more than the woman they have divorced who dies the child care. These men then haven’t had to pay much out to their first family at all. It’s pretty common for a lot of money to be available to second wife that first wife has not had.

This is a fast-moving thread, but in fact that poster answered this point above (timed 0814), and sadly her mother was not given a fair share at the time of the divorce (a good many years ago now, from the sound of it). This is what she said:

This was before the ruling on ex wives getting a share of the pension. My DM had no pension except the state pension, which became a single womens pension. The family home had to be sold and split at a time when property prices had hit the floor. It did not leave enough to buy anywhere and at 73 she wasn't going to get a mortgage. DM had to move into a rented assisted living place, it was grim. The new wife got a state widows pension and my Dad's private pension, plus the money from the family home as DF died early on in the marriage. Oh and a British Passport...and all the benefits that entails...

The way your first sentence completely misses the point I was making about amount being completely irrelevant to this conversation indicates completely that you don't understand what this conversation is about.

The rest of the post is equally as irrelevant to this conversation. Relevant to another thread though if you want to go start that.

It completely depends on the will. My dad remarried and has always been really transparent about his will with us. Some will come directly to us. Some will stay in a trust which will ultimately come to us on his wife’s death but she gets the income for life. Plus she gets to live in the house for life then it comes to us. Ultimately he wanted to make sure she’s looked after but that his grandkids (our kids) will benefit eventually. But you have no idea unless he tells you.

[Sarcasm font ON] I genuinely don't understand why competent adults think they have any right to their partner's money. Isn't it a bit embarrassing to still be expecting partners (via inheritance) to fund us once we are independent?

Should we just hand it all over to the government and be done with it?

sorry you’ve had such awful replies, something comes over some posters, I think it’s jealousy, in regards inheritance, they just see someone maybe getting money they didn’t earn and resent it.

The truth is no one can answer this, your father may have ring fenced the house and a portion of his estate for you, he may not have, he may have left eveyrghing to his wife trusting she will inherit you , he may have given her a life time tenancy, and then it passes to you.

there are so many options and none of us can guess which one he chose. As she’s no kids, it’s likely she will pass something on to you. But again, no one ca. guess.

Because it’s quicker

Accusing someone of being naive because they don’t care if they inherit nothing is rude.
The rest of my post was explaining why I don’t care because you seem to fail to understand why someone would not be bothered at all…
I don’t need to start my own thread about why I’m not grasping and concerned about wealth that isn’t mine.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

Depends where you are. In Scotland, children cannot be completely disinherited by a parent, regardless of whether a will exists. Under Scots Law, all biological and adopted children are granted automatic "Legal Rights" that supersede the terms of any will

You sound like a nice person

Not necessarily right, though. If you live in the UK the best place to start with this stuff is https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will which is really easy to use. You work through some questions, starting with which part of the UK you live in, and it tells you what happens if there is no will for a variety of circumstances.