Don't Turn Your Child into Cinderella.

Will Writing Solicitors - Newcastle and Sunderland

Have you considered the issue of sideways disinheritance? I bet you’ve never even heard of this.

This occurs when you leave your estate to your spouse or partner and nothing to your children. When you make your will this seems absolutely fine. Your children will be looked after by your partner after your death won’t they. You can’t possibly see any problems as they are the children of both of you, and you would both always look after them.

Fast forward 20 years, your children have grown up, you have died and now your spouse has married someone else. In your will you left everything to your spouse and if they had predeceased you then to your children.

You left everything to your spouse!

Consider this common tale. Josh died in his early forties but luckily he had made a will leaving everything to his wife Amy. He knew that Amy would see that their children were well looked after. Amy had also made a will leaving everything to Josh but if he died before her then to the children.

Amy struggled for years after the death of Josh but was proud when both children graduated from university. Ella moved to America for work and Tom went to live in London.

Amy eventually met Pete at work, fell in love and got married. A friend mentioned her will to her at the time. But Amy said it’s fine. My will leaves everything to the kids.

Sadly Amy developed cancer within months of her wedding. Knowing she was dying she told her children they would be fine. She had made provision for them.

Unfortunately she didn’t realise that her old will was no longer valid as she had remarried. Pete was now entitled to the whole house as it was in the joint names of he and Amy. He was entitled to all of Amy’s savings of £200,000. Her children were entitled to nothing.

So now a complete stranger has inherited everything that Josh and Amy worked for before their deaths. If Pete were kind he may then have written a will in favour of Amy’s children. But what about the competing interests of his own children. Or what if Pete were to remarry, the whole cycle would start again. Who knows where Josh and Amy’s money could end up!

Frequently I am asked to draft wills which do not even consider the interests of children like your children. The person making the will thinks only about their own children. I have heard all sorts of excuses as to why children like your children should not be left anything in the will of their step-parent. I don’t see them very often, we don’t get on, and they live abroad.

In order to protect your children from disinheritance you need to plan ahead. This could be anything from setting up a life interest in your will. You leave your half share of the house to the children with the right for your spouse to continue to live in the house for as long as they need. Later, when the house is sold, your children take their half share.

Or you could nominate your children under your private pension scheme so that they would receive money outside of your estate. You could also nominate them under a life assurance policy, again so that they receive money outside of your estate.

This way the likes of Pete and his children would not benefit at the expense of your children.

What if you are Divorced or Separated?

I am regularly asked to draft wills for clients who are separated from their spouse. It is essential in such a case to make a will. You may both still own the house as joint tenants. This means that upon your death your ex would automatically become the owner of the whole house.

Last year during three sets of divorce proceedings one party died. In each case without a will and in one case where the house was still jointly owned by the couple.

As the divorces had not concluded then my three clients were still the next of kin. In two of the cases they inherited everything and their step children didn’t receive anything.

It could have gone either way, what if my clients had died first? Their children would have lost out.

I always advise separating couples to think about severing the joint tenancy on the house. This is a simple conveyancing type procedure. They then make a will leaving their share of the house to their children and everything else to them. But you must do both at the same time or it doesn’t work.

My clients had all had this advice in the cases above. But they said they would sort out their wills after the divorce! They were very lucky as it happened. Their stepchildren were very unlucky.

Whilst I have your attention, go and find your life assurance policies and pension documents. Are they written in trust for your children, your partner or your ex-partner? If you aren't sure and need help with this then please get in touch to arrange a chat with one of my team or me.

Contact us now, to discuss your Will Writing needs.

Will Writing Solicitors Newcastle:  0191 284 6989

Will Writing Solicitors Sunderland: 0191 567 6667

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