Graysons Solicitors In The Press

Remarried? Who will inherit your home?

An increasingly common dilemma is being faced by people who have remarried after a divorce or bereavement. The dilemma occurs when you have children from your first marriage and are faced with the problem of who to leave your assets to in your will. You may wish to ensure that your partner has adequate financial security should you die first, but you feel it is only right that your children from your previous marriage should inherit your assets, particularly if the main asset is the family home which may have been substantially paid for during the previous marriage.

This situation gives rise to a number of possible pitfalls.

Your new partner may have children of their own from a previous relationship, so if you leave everything to them there is a danger that the things you’ve worked for may eventually pass directly to their children, with your own children being left out in the cold.

Your spouse may remarry, and your estate could eventually pass on to someone you’ve never even met.

Of course no one likes to think that these things will happen, we would all like to think that our assets will be passed on to the people we intended, but unfortunately this doesn’t always happen.

David Coffey, partner at Sheffield solicitors Graysons explains, “In our practice we are regularly approached by widows and widowers wanting to change their wills, often to cut out the children of their deceased partner, who they feel have not paid them as much attention as they would have liked since their biological parent passed away.”

Fortunately, a mechanism exists that can help guard against some of these problems. A special will, previously known as a ‘life interest’ will, can provide security for your spouse while ensuring that your estate eventually passes to your children.

Let us use the example of the matrimonial home as being the main asset. Using a life interest trust, if you die first your spouse receives a ‘life interest’ in the marital home, meaning that he or she can live in it rent free until they die (or remarry). On your surviving spouse’s death the house then passes to your children. In this way you can determine the ultimate destination of the property whilst still enabling your spouse to retain the benefit during their lifetime.

Life interest trusts can be used for other types of assets than property, and if used correctly can have advantages in other areas, such as helping to mitigate against future nursing or care home fees.

“Life interests are one of a number of useful tools that can be used by anyone with circumstances similar to these,” says David.  “A specialist solicitor with experience of estate planning will look at your overall circumstances and help you to carry out your wishes in the most efficient way possible.”

David can be contacted on 0114 2729184 or via www.graysons.co.uk