Wills and Children

There are a variety of situations in which having children will influence how your property is distributed, there are many factors to consider before you begin to draft a legally binding Will. If you live on your own and have children who are under 18 years old, it is crucial that you draft a Will to ensure that you take care of your children and make specific provisions for them.

In your Will, you will be able to appoint a legal guardian(s) to care for any children under the age of 18 in the event of your death. You can even still do this if the other parent is still alive and has parental responsibility. This is a good idea because in the event of your death, the other parent might not have survived you or they are not a suitable person to take care of the children if you die. You should also consider whether a guardian might be financially provided for so that, that guardian does not suffer any financial loss for taking care of your children.

It is also a good idea for you to draft a Will if you have children, so that you can appoint suitable trustees and executors. It is important to appoint suitable trustees and executors as they will have the responsibility of looking after your estate in the event of your death until your children reach the age of 18. However considering a discretionary trust might be a best option. It will allow your trustees to delay any payments to a child who has any addictions such as to drugs or alcohol or if the child has matrimonial problems.

It is essential to discuss the provisions of a Will with your spouse or civil partner if you are intended to get married to each other. If that person already has children, they will hopefully have the same concerns as you as to making financial provisions in their Will for their children. If you wish to give your estate to your children from your first marriage then you will need to think carefully about the financial consequences of it you die shortly after you remarry. The normal route to go is for one spouse or civil partner to sell his or her present home and to purchase a half-share of the spouse to be current home. This will mean that the home is then owned between spouses as tenants in common, which entitles the surviving spouse to live in that home for a life time or for a specific period after which the children of the deceased spouse or civil partner will be able to then recover their parents share in the property. If one party has children and the other does not, the determining factor will be how wealthy the parties are, the time they have been together and the strength of all the relationships (spouses and step children). This should be addressed before any marriage takes place.

I am a legal writer covering advice on topics of law, for further text and similar works visit Wills or contact a solicitor today.

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