step children and wills

kristian12

Hi i was just wondering as the issue was raised in discussion in our family recently if my stepson(never adopted) would be likely to get an equal share of any inheritance as my biological son, My wife and i married when her son was 1 and i've raised him as my own and to all intents he is but it was said that as we have no will (this will be sorted in the new year) that if we were to die then the son we had between us would get a greater share. We would not want this to happen hence the wills being done asap but is it a possibility?

We feel foolish for not thinking of wills before and even putting them into a position where complications might arise.

McCrack

If both parents were to die simultaneously without a will, each child under the rules of intestacy would take their own biological parents net assets. One child would not have any entitlement to the non-biologial parent's assets as they are a stranger in blood in the eyes of the law.

I think the easiest way to get around it would be to ensure all the assets are held jointly so if both you die the assets get split between the two children equally and of course each spouse make a will to reflect those wishes which if anything will give peace of mind.

coylemj

If the two adults were involved in a car accident and both were killed but the wife died first and neither of you had made a will, the wife's estate on intestacy would be divided two-thirds to the OP and one-third divided between her two children i.e. one-sixth each. When the OP then died, all of his estate would go to his sole child and nothing to the stepson because is not 'issue' of the OP.

So the OP's stepson in that situation would get one-sixth of the mother's estate (from her intestacy) and the child he had with his wife would get the rest. If the house is jointly owned, that means the stepson would get just one-twelfth and the other son would get eleven twelfths.

You both really need to make a will.

kristian12

Thank you both. That's roughly the impression we were left with after the original conversation especially as the house is jointly owned. We'd hate to put the boys into that situation so our intention is to make a will next week.

imitation

Might be worth looking into the tax implications too, there is tax relief on inheritance but I'm not sure how this effects it or if it applies.

kristian12

imitation wrote: »

Might be worth looking into the tax implications too, there is tax relief on inheritance but I'm not sure how this effects it or if it applies.

Thanks after this eye opener i think we need to check everything that we can.

coylemj

imitation wrote: »

Might be worth looking into the tax implications too, there is tax relief on inheritance but I'm not sure how this effects it or if it applies.

Good point, there is a exemption threshold of €225,000 for a child inheriting from a parent before Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) cuts in but a bequest from the OP to the stepson would only qualify for the 'other' threshold of €15,075. CAT is currently 33%.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/cat/thresholds.html

OP, have you considered adopting your stepson? It would make sense from a tax perspective in case you die after your wife because if she predeceases you, your estate will then potentially be divided up between a natural son and effectively a stranger so the tax treatment would be radically different when the estate is split up, even if you engineer it so that they both get an equal share of your estate.

If you die before your wife then on her death the estate would be going to her two sons and the 225K threshold would apply to both of them.