Discussion
I'm 66, divorced 20 years ago, no kids, not in a relationship that could be seen as "common law" spouse.
My estate currently around £600k.
I saw a solicitor last week, and have a draft will.
I plan to leave a couple of bequests to friends - collections of items that will be hard for the executors to sell.
After all bequests, taxes and expenses, the estate will be split into two equal shares:
One share will be equally divided between my surviving siblings (2 close to my age, and 2 20+ years younger) and my friend/lodger (she is 8 years younger than me). If any of those pre-decease me, their share will be split between the survivors.
The other share will be split equally between my surviving nephews and nieces - currently 14 of them.
I had a thought about my company pensions. They both have widow's benefits, which would be worth about £7k a year. Shame if that annual income were to die with me.
If I were to marry my friend/lodger, and have that marriage noted in the will if/when it happened, could I keep the rest of the will as is, leaving around 90% of my estate to the other beneficiaries?
Could my friend/lodger successfully contest the will on the grounds of inadequate provision?
Note that we are not in an intimate relationship, and never have been. The marriage would be purely for her financial security with the pensions. She has no savings, no property and no private pension. She pays half of the household bills as rent for her room, spends the rest of her salary on clothes and stuff.
My estate currently around £600k.
I saw a solicitor last week, and have a draft will.
I plan to leave a couple of bequests to friends - collections of items that will be hard for the executors to sell.
After all bequests, taxes and expenses, the estate will be split into two equal shares:
One share will be equally divided between my surviving siblings (2 close to my age, and 2 20+ years younger) and my friend/lodger (she is 8 years younger than me). If any of those pre-decease me, their share will be split between the survivors.
The other share will be split equally between my surviving nephews and nieces - currently 14 of them.
I had a thought about my company pensions. They both have widow's benefits, which would be worth about £7k a year. Shame if that annual income were to die with me.
If I were to marry my friend/lodger, and have that marriage noted in the will if/when it happened, could I keep the rest of the will as is, leaving around 90% of my estate to the other beneficiaries?
Could my friend/lodger successfully contest the will on the grounds of inadequate provision?
Note that we are not in an intimate relationship, and never have been. The marriage would be purely for her financial security with the pensions. She has no savings, no property and no private pension. She pays half of the household bills as rent for her room, spends the rest of her salary on clothes and stuff.
Given you are are already considering leaving her a sizeable inheritance it occurs to me that despite your nice thinking you could be creating a potential issue of some sort just to avoid seeing a relatively modest pension income disappear.
I’m no legal expert but I think as it stands your plans for your estate already seem very decent.
I’m no legal expert but I think as it stands your plans for your estate already seem very decent.
You're either married (in the legal sense) or you're not. There's no half way house where you can pick and choose what rights someone does or doesn't get.
Ken Dodd married his long term partner two days before he died, specifically so that she didn't have to pay IHT on his £27million estate.
The absence of intimacy doesn't stop marriage being marriage. (Separately, an unconsummated marriage may be annulled but the marriage is 100% up and running unless and until that happens.)
People who feel "left out" of a Will only have a claim on the estate if they were financially supported by the deceased. This can include someone who was living rent free in the home of the deceased.
Ken Dodd married his long term partner two days before he died, specifically so that she didn't have to pay IHT on his £27million estate.
The absence of intimacy doesn't stop marriage being marriage. (Separately, an unconsummated marriage may be annulled but the marriage is 100% up and running unless and until that happens.)
People who feel "left out" of a Will only have a claim on the estate if they were financially supported by the deceased. This can include someone who was living rent free in the home of the deceased.
Be aware that if you marry someone or enter into civil partnership then any will you have previously made becomes null and void. You have to make a new one if you dont want to legally die intetestate and your new partner to become executor and primary inheritor ( with a good chance of getting everything even if that isnt what you would have intented)
Sam Aigal said:
Be aware that if you marry someone or enter into civil partnership then any will you have previously made becomes null and void. You have to make a new one if you dont want to legally die intetestate and your new partner to become executor and primary inheritor ( with a good chance of getting everything even if that isnt what you would have intented)
This is also my understanding i.e. Marriage voids all previous wills....although IANAL.LimmerickLad said:
Sam Aigal said:
Be aware that if you marry someone or enter into civil partnership then any will you have previously made becomes null and void. You have to make a new one if you dont want to legally die intetestate and your new partner to become executor and primary inheritor ( with a good chance of getting everything even if that isnt what you would have intented)
This is also my understanding i.e. Marriage voids all previous wills....although IANAL.Mr E said:
LimmerickLad said:
Sam Aigal said:
Be aware that if you marry someone or enter into civil partnership then any will you have previously made becomes null and void. You have to make a new one if you dont want to legally die intetestate and your new partner to become executor and primary inheritor ( with a good chance of getting everything even if that isnt what you would have intented)
This is also my understanding i.e. Marriage voids all previous wills....although IANAL.
Mr E said:
My will has wording to avoid this.
It doesnt matter what your will says , it becomes null and void.Unless you want your intended beneficiaries to have to spend 10s of thousands contesting it through the courts and still potentially end up with nothing then write a new will.
Ask mehow i know.
I was aware that an existing will becomes void upon marriage, and my solicitor also made it very clear when I asked what would happen if I got married at some point.
The meeting with the solicitor did get a bit confusing, as I wasn't sure at the time if decree absolute had been granted for my previous marriage. After a frantic search through a load of paperwork, I fortunately found the court letter granting decree absolute.
I don't think I made it clear to him that I was asking about the possibility of marrying my lodger, who would already be a beneficiary - I think he thought I was asking about marrying someone else.
Interesting that someone I'm not legally married to could possibly qualify for the "widow's pension".
The same company (Mercer) administers both of my company pensions, so I will phone them to ask if co-habiting counts, and if so, get the paperwork sorted.
The meeting with the solicitor did get a bit confusing, as I wasn't sure at the time if decree absolute had been granted for my previous marriage. After a frantic search through a load of paperwork, I fortunately found the court letter granting decree absolute.
I don't think I made it clear to him that I was asking about the possibility of marrying my lodger, who would already be a beneficiary - I think he thought I was asking about marrying someone else.
Interesting that someone I'm not legally married to could possibly qualify for the "widow's pension".
The same company (Mercer) administers both of my company pensions, so I will phone them to ask if co-habiting counts, and if so, get the paperwork sorted.
clockworks said:
Interesting that someone I'm not legally married to could possibly qualify for the "widow's pension".
The same company (Mercer) administers both of my company pensions, so I will phone them to ask if co-habiting counts, and if so, get the paperwork sorted.
I'm 99% sure on this as we both had to complete declaration forms and send to the pension companies with details of the co-habiting partner, name, DOB etcThe same company (Mercer) administers both of my company pensions, so I will phone them to ask if co-habiting counts, and if so, get the paperwork sorted.
Let me know if they say different as that will totally bugger up our plans.
Sam Aigal said:
It doesnt matter what your will says , it becomes null and void.
Unless you want your intended beneficiaries to have to spend 10s of thousands contesting it through the courts and still potentially end up with nothing then write a new will.
Ask mehow i know.
Unless your will was made in contemplation of that marriage. Not any marriage, that specific marriage. Unless you want your intended beneficiaries to have to spend 10s of thousands contesting it through the courts and still potentially end up with nothing then write a new will.
Ask mehow i know.
clockworks said:
My estate currently around £600k..........................
....................Note that we are not in an intimate relationship, and never have been. The marriage would be purely for her financial security with the pensions. She has no savings, no property and no private pension.
It's not a lawyer you need to see, it's a shrink! ....................Note that we are not in an intimate relationship, and never have been. The marriage would be purely for her financial security with the pensions. She has no savings, no property and no private pension.
Yellow Lizud said:
It's not a lawyer you need to see, it's a shrink!
Why? I'll be dead when the will comes into effect.I don't have any kids, so I'm just planning to spread my estate around between the people that put up with me while I'm alive.
My lodger may be a bit of a financial incompetent, but she raised her kids right (both have very good jobs in The City), and she is the person that I lean on. We keep each other stable. I'd hate to see her "out on the street" if I go first.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff