what if your husband or wife remarries?
If you leave everything to each other and one of you remarries, your children can end up inheriting nothing. It passes "sideways" to the new spouse and their family. It's legal, it's common, and it's avoidable.
this is the bit I fix.
how it happens
- You make mirror wills. Everything to each other, then to the children. Sensible, and very common.
- One of you dies. Everything — including your half of the house — goes to the survivor, outright.
- Life moves on. The survivor meets someone and remarries. Marriage cancels their old will.
- It goes sideways. Under a new will, or the intestacy rules, the new spouse comes first. Your children can get little or nothing.
It doesn't take remarriage, either. The survivor can simply change their will — perhaps under pressure, perhaps years later when they're vulnerable. Once everything's theirs outright, your wishes don't count.
how I stop it
The fix goes in your will, now — not theirs, later.
Instead of leaving your share of the house (and sometimes savings) to your partner outright, your will leaves it in a protective trust. The usual version is a life interest trust: your partner can live in the home for the rest of their life, and your share is kept safe for your children after that.
Your partner is looked after. Your children are protected. And if your partner remarries, your share doesn't go with them.
If you own your home as joint tenants, I'll explain changing to tenants in common — otherwise your share passes straight to the survivor and the trust has nothing to hold.
Trust wills: [PRICE TO CONFIRM]. Home visit included.
who needs this most
- Couples with children, who'd want those children to inherit whatever happens.
- Second marriages and blended families — especially where each of you has children from before.
- Anyone whose main asset is the family home.
If none of that is you, simple mirror wills may be fine. I'll tell you.
questions
is sideways disinheritance legal?
Yes. Nobody has to do anything wrong for it to happen. The survivor is allowed to change their will, and marriage cancels an old one automatically. That's why it has to be planned for in your will now.
does a trust mean my partner can be thrown out of the house?
No. A life interest trust is usually written so the survivor can live in the home for the rest of their life. Your share is protected for your children after that.
will a trust protect the house from care fees?
Not reliably, and I won't sell it to you that way. There are rules against giving things away to avoid care fees. A trust in your will is about making sure your share reaches your children.
we own our house jointly. does that matter?
Yes, a lot. If you own it as joint tenants, your share passes to the survivor automatically, whatever your will says. To put your share in a trust it usually needs to be owned as tenants in common. I'll check this and explain the change.