marriage and wills

lardarse

Hi All,

Just want to check a few things.
I`m male and have two children from a previous relationship, (never married) they are now in their late teens, so nearly grown, i`m in my early 50s
I have my own house, newly moved in less then a year ago, with a smallish mortgage left on it. This is just solely owned by myself. Now i plan on marrying soon (not my childrens mother), but i wanted to know what happens after my death. Will the house automatically go to my kids, or would my new wife have a claim here? I guess it depends on how long she would be living at the house? If i made a will would that supersede anything else ie if i split the house into thirds.
Also what would happen to any pension/life assurance also if no will is made. I guess this would be the same as the house.
Just want to know where i stand, and what happens when i get married.

Thanks

wench

Have a read of this.
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/the_deceaseds_estate/what_happens_the_deceaseds_estate.html

If you don't make a will, your spouse will get 2/3 of estate, the kids 1/3 between them.
If you do make one, spouse is entitled to 1/3, you can do what you like with the other 2/3

lardarse

Many thanks Wench for the information.

NUTLEY BOY

If you really want to blind yourself with the relevant science look at the Succession Act 1965.
Link http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1965/act/27/enacted/en/print.html

Parts V, VI and IX of the act might be of particular relevance to your query.

Pay heed to section 56 about the rights of a surviving spouse to appropriate the dwelling and household chattels
Link to section 56 http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1965/act/27/section/56/enacted/en/html#sec56

If you are thinking about not making a will and leaving your estate to be distributed according to the rules on intestacy be aware that you might create unintended consequences and conflict.

The most responsible thing to do here is to cut along to a solicitor and get proper legal advice in relation to what you can and cannot do as far as succession goes. This way you can make an informed decision as to how to proceed in the context of your intended change of marital status.

lardarse

Thanks Nutley Boy,
heavy reading that is, that will get me to sleep ok tonight lol.

One thing that i did find important, was that i have a will already. But when you get married, that become null and void. So if i want the 1/3 share for everyone, i will need to make a new will after getting married.

Peregrinus

Also, you should discuss your estate plan with your wife (and she should discuss hers with you; she may not want any property that she leaves to you to go ultimately to your children, who are unrelated to her). This is likely to go much more smoothly if, when one of you dies, nobody gets any unpleasant surprises based on provisions in the will that they did not know were going to be there.

Glass fused light

lardarse wrote: »

Thanks Nutley Boy,
heavy reading that is, that will get me to sleep ok tonight lol.

One thing that i did find important, was that i have a will already. But when you get married, that become null and void. So if i want the 1/3 share for everyone, i will need to make a new will after getting married.

Marraige is a big step it "fixes" the primary adult commitment to a single person. Although you have bought the house yourself, the family home as it will be, is covered by the family home protection act. http://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/1976/act/27/revised/en/html

From memory, You can make a will before marraige, one in contemplation of marraige, and/or you both can make wills based on a common understanding of how separate and joint assets are to be dealt with.