Will beneficiaries - advice please Post Reply

[potluck]

Hello,

I'm in a conundrum over completing our will and what to fill in regarding beneficiaries.

My husband has so far (following a discussion with his father) suggested that 'in the event of a family tragedy, ie, we all get wiped out, 100% will fall to his sibling'. I've questioned him as to why our 'wealth' wouldn't be split between my siblings too, to which he replied why should my father's inheritance go to your siblings?

Admittedly, he will receive a much larger inheritance than me. But my immediate thoughts are surely once we are married, everything, inheritance and all, would be split equally between all siblings, on both sides? Maybe not? I'm afraid I know nothing on this subject!

I will inherit a small amount from my parents. Do we start stipulating this bit goes to sibling 1 and 2, and this bit goes to sibling 3 and 4? Presumably, if we are going down this route, there needs to be a distinction between inheritance and 'earned' wealth?

Ive spoken to a sibling and they have overlooked this question and aren't answering it. They are happy for their wealth to be split equally between all siblings on both sides. This is what I assumed would be the case.

Does anyone have any advice please on this rather sensitive topic? He's not completely closed to the idea of discussing it, I just thought it would be useful to get some other views. Thank you!

 

[fishflower]

Hi.
Just to give you some comfort this is exactly what my husband and I are planning to do. His inheritance will go to his siblings. I have no issue with this and think it’s fair. However I guess you need to be able to identify clearly which part of your estate represents his inheritance and which part isn’t.

[Happymummy2014]

So many people face a similar dilemma. It’s understandable for your husband to want his father’s money to stay in the family, and equally fair that you think of it as a shared pot. Does it depend on whether you die shortly after receiving the inheritance? Would it be different if you died 20 or 30 years later? Or could you think of a fair percentage to pass to each sibling (so you don’t have to try to ring-fence each inheritance, and bearing in mind that you have your own assets to pass along too)? Don’t agonise too much - fortunately these things rarely happen in practice - and you can always make a Will which works for you now, and revisit it in a few years (which you should anyway).

[clare74]

I'd agree with the idea of reviewing your wills over time as you'll probably find your wishes change. For now, a really good person to talk this through with would be Arabella Murphy - https://propitiouslondon.com/.