Next of kin

[Madmac70]

Hi all,

Sorry for long post peeps.

Just had a 'wake up' call. Should I die tomorrow I would die intestate. I honestly thought I had no tangible assets, me and Mrs Mac have always gone for experience over material gains. We rent a modest house, each have a 10 yr old focus, no debt and decent disposable salary which we use to live life rather than save/invest.

Have just been informed that I am 'worth' 5 times my last p60 or circa £300k dead. Plus around £20k pa for my next of kin and about £5k pa each till the millstones reach 18.

We all have a past and wonder if this'll bite me in the arse. I have an adult child from a previous marriage, she is 22 and we are estranged. I have had sight of a decree nisi but have never seen a decree absolute. Me and my current partner have 2 children (10 and 4) we are not married.

I will be seeking indemnified legal advice as soon as possible, within next fortnight I hope. But, should an unforseen 'thing' happen what happens to the money/pension.

I really don't want my eldest daughter to have any inheritance while her overbearing/controlling mother is alive who WILL drink it.

My current partner is understanding and would like to provide for my estranged daughter (great isn't she) in trust until later.

What would happen if I died tomorrow? who is my next if kin? Is there anything I could 'jot down' so that Mrs Mac would be in total charge?

Sorry for the ramble but I thought all I had of value was my £2k fish tank which I was going to give to my brother to piss him off!!

You thoughts chaps

Robbie

[hajaba123]

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-w...

You'll have probably had to nominate a beneficiary for the death in service stuff.
Try bnot to die tomorrow and book an appointment asap to see a solicitor.
Happy to PM my address if you want any other beneficiaries? ;-)

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Your 3 kids are all your next of kin, but as only 1 is an adult, I guess she'd decide how funds were allocated. If you were in a coma, certainly your eldest daughter would be calling the shots and your partner couldn't even visit without her say so.

Just get married.

[mudster]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Just get married.

Probably worth OP checking if he is divorced first.

[TooMany2cvs]

Madmac70 said:

Should I die tomorrow I would die intestate.

I have an adult child from a previous marriage, she is 22 and we are estranged. I have had sight of a decree nisi but have never seen a decree absolute. Me and my current partner have 2 children (10 and 4) we are not married.

I really don't want my eldest daughter to have any inheritance while her overbearing/controlling mother is alive who WILL drink it.

What would happen if I died tomorrow?

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will
If you're still married, then your spouse gets the first £250k, and half the remainder.
The kids split the other half of everything over £250k.

If you're not still married, then the kids split everything.

Your 22yo daughter will get her share herself - her mother won't have any access to it unless your daughter lets her. And, if she does allow her mother access to her own money, there's absolutely NOTHING you can do to stop her.

Well, that's probably not quite true, you could put some complex trust in place with trustees signing off all access, but that might be overkill...

Madmac70 said:

who is my next if kin?

Doesn't really mean anything in UK law - especially after your death.

Madmac70 said:

Is there anything I could 'jot down' so that Mrs Mac would be in total charge?

If you want her to have control while you're alive, but after you're unable to make your own decisions, then a power of attorney - either health and welfare, property and finance, or one of each.

After you're dead, a will.

[randlemarcus]

But the will, or lack of, doesn't impact your Death in Service money. You should have been asked to indicate your wishes, i.e. all to Miss Miggins. The trustees have to take that into account, but will make their own minds up, e.g. you left Miss Miggins six months ago, they would look at your family, and hand the cash to them.

[omniflow]

randlemarcus said:

But the will, or lack of, doesn't impact your Death in Service money. You should have been asked to indicate your wishes, i.e. all to Miss Miggins. The trustees have to take that into account, but will make their own minds up, e.g. you left Miss Miggins six months ago, they would look at your family, and hand the cash to them.

Drawing attention to this post. It is highly likely that the death in service benefit does NOT form part of your estate. The wording of the expression of wishes form, that you should have filled in, is very carefully constructed to ensure that this doesn't happen. This should also mean that it doesn't form part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes either.

I'm not saying this means problem solved, but it's worth bearing in mind when figuring out how to proceed.

[RobinOakapple]

Sounds like the OP needs to get his st together. Kids here and there, not sure if he's married or not, WTF?

[Madmac70]

Sorry for not updating sooner, left phone at home.

RobinOakapple said:

Sounds like the OP needs to get his st together. Kids here and there, not sure if he's married or not, WTF?

I really don't need to justify myself to you but here goes. I was married for 14 years and we had a child together. The marriage broke down and I have neither seen nor spoken to my ex wife since the day we split up. I met someone else and we have been together 14 years and have a loving stable relationship and two wonderful children. Crawl back under your stone you judgemental cock.

For the rest of you, thanks for useful replies, stuff is in motion.

Robbie

[Starfighter]

To be fair to Robin - he does make a fair point.

If the final part of the divorce has not gone through then you are married and your "ex" wife will have a major claim on your estate which is not what you want. You need to get this confirmed pronto and take paid-for advice.

[bladebloke]

OP, you don't need advice from a professional re who would get it tomorrow, you need to make a will. Go to a professional to do this, it shouldn't take long or cost all that much.

In the meantime, if you're really paranoid something might happen to you before its executed, a DIY will kit might give you some comfort. Don't try to make it complicated though and pay VERY careful attention to the instructions for execution.

[RobinOakapple]

Starfighter said:

To be fair to Robin - he does make a fair point.

Thanks

I'll add that being fair to Robin is an aim we should all share.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

mudster said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Just get married.

Probably worth OP checking if he is divorced first.

Pah, a minor detail.

You know the penalty for bigamy....two mothers in law.

[randlemarcus]

bladebloke said:

OP, you don't need advice from a professional re who would get it tomorrow, you need to make a will. Go to a professional to do this, it shouldn't take long or cost all that much.

In the meantime, if you're really paranoid something might happen to you before its executed, a DIY will kit might give you some comfort. Don't try to make it complicated though and pay VERY careful attention to the instructions for execution.

Again, read the posts above carefully. A will will help in the distribution of your estate, and is a very good thing. Death in Service benefits are very carefully designed to never enter your estate. They are a payment from a third party to a beneficiary. You need to make your intentions extremely clear to the third party, i.e. your work DIS trustees. They MAY choose to ignore those if they know you were married when you made them, but have since divorced and remarried.

[MKnight702]

Also, may be worth checking with work who the beneficiary would be for the works pension/death in service. I bet the last thing you want would be for the OH to get 0 and the ex-(?)wife to get the lot!