Many people don’t realise that when they get married, any previous will they’d made before now becomes invalid. So it’s really important to make a new one, especially if it’s a 2nd marriage. The family situation may be a little more complicated, so it’s a good idea to get proper legal advice about making new wills which are fair to both a new spouse and an existing family.

Children may also have a concern that their inheritance could be diminished. This is a valid concern and does often happen if good planning and proper advice has not been taken.

You might think that there’s not much at stake. However, don’t underestimate the value of your estate: savings, property, life assurance, pension, death in service benefit, valuable assets – it all adds up and you may be worth more dead than alive! However well everyone gets on now, it’s also the time when families fall out, if they feel they’ve not been dealt a fair share, or they’ve lost out altogether.

Many couples make standard, ‘mirror’ wills – leaving everything to their spouse, and then after that shared equally between the children. What happens if you want to leave your house to your children, but you also want your new spouse to continue to benefit from living in the property? This can’t be achieved with standard wills, but it can be done by making ‘Property Protection Trust Wills’ which means that you can achieve protection for both your children and your new spouse. It may involve changing the property to being jointly owned as Tenants in Common, with an Interest for Life, or a Right of Residence Trust.

APS Legal can take care of all these details. It’s not as complicated or expensive as it sounds, but it does ensure fairness and family harmony. Please call us to discuss your options on 01482 968001.