Do you want to pass your property on to your children after you die? The way you write your Will may mean this doesn’t happen.
Many people make a Will leaving everything to their partner/husband/wife, and then to their children. Your Will states that your property and assets will pass to your partner or spouse on your death, and once that’s happened, then your Will is no longer relevant. Everything is now owned by your partner or spouse and so when your partner or spouse dies, your share may not pass to your children. It depends what your partner’s Will says.
Even if you’ve made ‘mirror wills’, anyone can change their Will at any time. If they re-marry, any previous Will now becomes invalid, and without a new Will, everything they own will pass to their new spouse, and then the children from the original marriage receive nothing.
So what can you do? You can create a Property Protection Trust Will with APS Legal. We help you prepare your Will to protect your partner and also your children. Your Will can pass your share of your property to your children, and then it’s guaranteed they will receive your share. But what about your partner/husband/wife? You can also protect them by creating a Will trust giving them the right to live in the property for the rest of their life, and treat it as if it was their own. It cannot be sold or used by your children, without the permission of the living partner. APS offer full advice on this and can complete a Property Protection Trust Will, which also includes a change of property ownership to Tenants in Common. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, or as expensive, but it does need legal advice and APS are specialists in this.