As a parent, you will spend a lot of your time doing everything in your power to ensure your child or children’s safety. This includes financial security. One imperative element of this is guaranteeing your child’s future financial security. This can take place in several forms, from setting up a private pension fund to add to throughout your child’s life to ensuring their inheritance by writing a will.
However, as life goes on, not everything is guaranteed. Marriages break down, divorces happen, and people move on. Some people go on to get remarried.
It is important to understand that if you do decide to remarry, any existing will you may have written will become invalid. This means, if the unthinkable were to happen, your spouse in your new marriage will inherit your state – not your children from a previous relationship or other beneficiaries you may have written in your original will.
Why should I make a will?
Even if you consider yourself to have few possessions, a will is important to ensure that what you have goes to who you specify.
If you die without a will, you will be determined to be an intestate person. This means your estate will be divided under the England and Wales rules of intestacy. This means that your assets may not be distributed the way you wished them to be.
There are a few factors that can come in here which determines how your assets will be divided under these rules.
- If you were married or in a civil relationship, and have no children, your estate will go to your spouse or civil partner.
- If you were married or in a civil relationship, but do have children, your spouse or civil partner will receive all of your personal possession as well as the first £322,000 of your estate. If your estate is over this figure, your spouse or partner will receive half, and your children will divide the other half between them.
Considering these factors, it is important that if you do remarry and still wish to provide your child or children with an inheritance, that you create a new will.
The impact of a second marriage on your will
Not only does a second marriage make your existing will void, but it can give you more elements to consider when creating your new will.
This includes assets and children from your previous marriage, and if your new marriage has resulted in a blended family. This means if both you and your new spouse have children together, as well as both from previous marriages.
You should take into consideration the following elements, such as:
- The age of any children under the age of 18
- The overall wealth of your family
- Other people your children could inherit from
- The age and health of your current spouse
If you do not create a new will in your second marriage, the only way your child or children could realistically make a claim, is to contest the estate for ‘reasonable provision’. This means that any children from a previous marriage, who were financially dependent upon you, can be left with a fair financial arrangement.
Wills for second marriages
It is extremely valuable to have a qualified legal advisor assist you when writing your will.
It is especially beneficial to have guidance from a legal advisor when writing your will if:
- You wish to make provisions for someone that depends on you
- You have children from a previous marriage
- There is a business involved
It would also be valuable to consider a trust will. This is a great way of adding extra security for your children’s future. There are three types as follows:
- Property trust will
- Life interest trust will
- Discretionary trust will
Property trust wills
Often called a protective property trust, a property trust will enables you to protect a property for specific loved ones.
Life interest trust will
This type of trust will is a great way of ensuring a loved one is provided for. This means, if you include your home in a life interest trust will, a trustee can live in that property for the rest of their life. Only on their death will the property then align to wishes from their own will.
Discretionary trust will
A discretionary trust will means you can appoint trustees to manage inheritance on behalf of vulnerable beneficiaries.
Trust wills are particularly useful if you have children from a previous marriage. If you are unsure whether you should add a trust will to your will, advice from a legal advisor can provide you with support and guidance.
Why choose Peter Ross
At Peter Ross, our expert team specialise in delivering a service tailored to you. Based in Gateshead and Jarrow, we are experienced in delivering estate writing services across Newcastle and the North East.
Having support from an understanding legal advisor means we can assist you with careful wording within your will, to ensure your estate is divided exactly as you wish. On top of this, we can help you to utilise tax planning strategies in aim of reducing inheritance tax for when the time comes.
So, if you are in need of writing a new will, especially if you are in your second marriage, please don’t hesitate to get in touch for some advice from our expert team of legal advisors.