When you have children you appreciate how important it is to ensure they are cared for once you are no longer here. If they are under 16 you will want to think about who would look after them and ensure there are funds to help in that situation. You will also most likely want to ensure that your children do not get large sums of money on their 16th birthday and perhaps manage any inheritance via a trust. And if you want a specific family member or friend to take care of your children but that person is not your next of kin, then you need to ensure you designate that person specifically in your Will.
Wills can be relatively straightforward for a ‘nuclear family’. However, if you have step-children or children who are not biological or legally adopted, without a carefully drafted Will they could miss out on their inheritance.
Nuclear families (two married parents with children) are becoming increasingly less commonplace in the UK with more blended or stepfamilies, civil partnerships, and co-habiting relationships. If a couple live together, but are not legal married, then the partners have limited inheritance rights without a Will. Stepchildren also have no automatic right to receive anything without a Will.
What is more concerning however is that often a partner may leave everything to their spouse first and then their children, assuming that their own children will always be catered for further down the line. Unfortunately this is not always the case and the issue of ‘sideways disinheritance’ may arise. This occurs when beneficiaries (most often children of a first marriage) do not inherit their intended share of an estate due to remarriage. Matters can be further complicated if one person has assets which they have brought into the relationship and they wish to ensure that these are kept specifically for their biological children. Disputes can arise when children have been left out of the inheritance due to lack of careful planning. For example, after you have passed, your spouse may then go on to have another relationship, or simply decide to leave their estate to their own biological children and whether by accident or on purpose your children will receive nothing and will have been completely disinherited from your estate.
Dying without a carefully drafted Will can cause further stress to those who you have left behind – please contact us for advice about your particular situation.