Will - possible to exclude husband of beneficiary?

[Exige46]

Just looking to get an idea of how this might pan out...

Father in law died just over a month ago - leaving everything split equally four ways between his 3 daughters and another daughter in law - the former wife of his son, the son having died more than 20 years ago. I don't know the exact wording of the will, which is probably the key. Outcome makes no difference to myself or my family in financial terms. Each of the four beneficiaries have their own families and offspring.

The daughter in law remarried and split up within the last year - the scumbag she married was having an affair all along. She is terminally ill - has been given 6-9 months after her latest check up.

Is there any way that said scumbag that she is still married to does not benefit from the will? The amounts involved are not life changing by any means, but enough to cause upset that such a person could walk off with a tidy sum. Or would anything that she receives then become jointly owned by her and her scumbag husband? And then how does that affect any outcome for her grown up kids? I don't know whether she has any arrangements or pre nup in place.

Cheers

[ghost83]

I’d have thought she would have to make a Will describing where her assets/money are to go if he’s not in that will then he won’t receive them,

[Cyberprog]

ghost83 said:

I’d have thought she would have to make a Will describing where her assets/money are to go if he’s not in that will then he won’t receive them,

This, once you make an award to someone you can't change it.

You could, however, leave the money to a discretionary trust, setup so that she gets the money she needs while alive, and anything else goes to the dogs home when she dies.

[Graveworm]

Sounds like a complex and truly upsetting situation that, if she wishes, needs proper consideration and advice.
Its very hard to make no provision for a spouse, upon death. In the event that she does manage this, then of course there is a second helping of non exempt inheritance tax.
Who are the alternative beneficiaries? With good advice the daughter in law might be able to divert some away if she wishes Easiest prior to probate or failing that her own decline, inheritance tax is probably still in play though unless she massively defies the predictions., if its just to penalise the current husband then of course spending it with nothing to show will achieve that. 9 months of top end private care would erode a lot of money. Any outcome might be best aimed at her remaining time.
I have never personally known of an acrimonious estate that has left anyone happy at the end of it all. Save, naturally the cliché of the lawyers.. who in all honesty would have still been gainfully employed on the clock anyway.

Edited by Graveworm on Saturday 20th April 00:23

[Exige46]

I'm thinking it comes down to two separate issues.

Firstly - when she receives a sum of money from her father in law, does her husband then automatically have a claim to half of that due to the fact they are married?

And then, she will need to sort her will out to ensure her husband gets nothing from her.

It is the first issueI am probably less sure about.

Cheers

[theboss]

Exige46 said:

I'm thinking it comes down to two separate issues.

Firstly - when she receives a sum of money from her father in law, does her husband then automatically have a claim to half of that due to the fact they are married?

And then, she will need to sort her will out to ensure her husband gets nothing from her.

It is the first issueI am probably less sure about.

Cheers

Assets in divorce proceedings can be deemed matrimonial (i.e jointly owned) or non-matrimonial (i.e. privately owned). These are treated differently, but ultimately the court still has the power to take a personally owned asset and award some or all of it to the other spouse to meet their financial needs.

If the daughter in law were simply divorcing, without the terminal illness to contend with, she would be arguing that the inheritance was non-matrimonial and the husband would probably be arguing otherwise.

Ultimately the distribution of the asset would be determined by the court having looked at all the facts. Did she financially support him, for example? The marriage was short which would go in her favour. I assume they didn’t have any children.

I assume from what the OP has said, that there are grandchildren of the deceased (albeit grown-up) whom the inheritance was intended to benefit, by extension?

Given the terminal illness and prognosis, this almost certainly isn’t going to be dealt with by divorce proceedings. Even if she wanted to divorce him on principle it wouldn’t take much lack of co-operation on his part to stall things until she inevitably passes away. It’s obviously in his interests regarding this money to remain legally married to the end of her life, as deplorable as it is.

I expect the best thing she can do in the circumstances, is ensure she has a sole bank account ready to receive the money and then dispose of it immediately. If she passes away with it sat in her own bank account and is still married then he will most likely get it.

If she has the energy at this late stage in her life, she could also try and divorce the guy but it might be the last thing she needs at this point, and as above, I would expect him to tactically drag the whole thing out as much as possible.

[Squiddly Diddly]

Does the daughter in law need the bequeath?

If not, maybe consider varying the deceased's Will and bypass the daughter in law and grant it directly to her children instead. All the beneficiaries of the Will will need to agree to this and it should cost about £250 in legal fees for the Deed.

[Paynewright]

Its called a ‘deed of variation’ to alter where the money goes. It is can be used to pass money onto the next generation and avoid IHT for the original recipient.

Take advice via a solicitor.

Ian

[Exige46]

Cool, thanks, looks like some useful information in there

[bairn7]

Paynewright said:

Its called a ‘deed of variation’ to alter where the money goes. It is can be used to pass money onto the next generation and avoid IHT for the original recipient.

Take advice via a solicitor.

Ian

This is the answer you are looking for. Consequences of a deed of variation is that the original beneficiary nominates a new beneficiary and it bequest is deemed to be made directly from the deceased to the new beneficiary (i.e. the old beneficiary never was entitled to the bequest).

Other option would be to disclaim the inheritance entirely and the bequest would default to the residuary beneficiaries in the Will.

IANAL