Anyone here have any experience of this?

I’m about to buy a property with my partner. I also have an 11 year old daughter from a previous marriage.

We’re going to put a cohabitation agreement into place, to make sure that everything is fairly dealt with if the relationship ends; but what do we do if I die?

My intention would be that, on my death, my estate goes to my daughter, but I also don’t want my partner to get kicked out of the house (assuming we were still in a relationship at the time of death; and also assuming that she hasn’t put me under the patio…).

Currently we’re saying that if the relationship ends, we’ll take out whatever deposit we initially put in plus an equal share of any further equity. We’re both happy with this agreement (even if there’s a chance I may pay a greater share of the mortgage).
I’d assume that we would agree the same share of the property’s equity would transfer to my estate on death – but I’d want my partner to be able to continue to have a good standard of life/accommodation even if I wasn’t around.

So what clauses can we put in the cohabitation agreement (or my will) that would allow my partner to keep the house but still allow for an (eventual) inheritance by my daughter?

Sounds like you need to make a will.

You need to see a Solicitor and draw up a pair of wills….

You need to make a will.

I’ve got a vague recollection that we looked into something similar a few years ago. The problem I recall was that you were reliant upon your partner not changing their will after your death.

yup, you can put whatever you like in your will. Speak to a solicitor.

Speak to a solicitor.

^ Very much this!

Solictor. Following is from memory. There are two ways of buying a house, one is Tennets in Common can’t remember the other. That can be used to achieve what you want plus a will AND a co-habitation agreement. I say both as wills can be changed very easily without consulting other parties so in some respects are not secure for achieving this sort of thing.

Yep, aware that wills, etc will need to be in place. But what would/could be put in them?

My share of the house would transfer to my partner on my death, with a proviso that her will would transfer it to my daughter on her death?

What if my partner changes her will, sells the house after my death and spends it all on gin / Santa Cruz Nomads, etc?
I don’t for 1 second think that she’d try to screw me over but things like this are easiest when set down in writing.

What if my partner changes her will, sells the house after my death and spends it all on gin / Santa Cruz Nomads, etc?

Nothing you can do. She could also meet someone else who has 4 kids already that she likes more than yours, and cuts your daughter off completely.

You could take out life insurance that say pays out £250,000 to your daughter the event of your death. If she was under 18 this could go into a trust fund.

Go and see a solictor.

yup, you can put whatever you like in your will.

You can, but won’t always be enacted upon. Anyone with a “claim” can challenge a will in the courts.

Why not have your share of your house transfer to your daughter if you die? Then your daughter and your partner would then jointly own the house protecting both of them? Whoever is then the guardian of your daughter after your death, or the executor of your will looks after your daughter’s interests until she’s of age

Caveat IANAL.

Why not have your share of your house transfer to your daughter if you die?

The nature of ownership comes into play here – you can either both own all of the house or you can own half each. If thats not established correctly to start with then in a Will the you don’t necessarily have ‘a half’ to allocate.

“Ownership” might not necessarily grant “Control over” too. Me and my brother each inherited my dad’s half share of my parents house when he died (i.e. we have 1/4 each and ownership of the other half rests with my mum). But me and my brother can’t sell our half of the house because although its partly our house its also wholly her home. The three of us can agree to sell it but the only thing we can do with the money is buy another house for her to live in. She also can’t be compelled by a third party to sell the house because its not all hers to sell.

So for the OP he needs to think of a solution where his daughters interested are protected but his partners future dignity and security is considered also.

Consider the fact also that if the house is mortgaged… are you handing responsibility to pay half that mortgage to the child too? Or does the partner need to keep servicing the whole mortgage for a house they only have half and interest in?

Go and see a solictor.

They can make what you want to happen possible, but they can’t tell you what you want

Pretty sure you can set up a will where your daughter gets the house but the wife can live in it as long as she wants.

They can make what you want to happen possible, but they can’t tell you what you want

But a good one will give guidance as to your options (indeed it’s that knowledge that you’re paying for, not the piece of paper at the end of it)

You used to be able to make people sitting tenants on property, which meant that the person named had a right to live in the property until death.

Possible you could leave your half of the house to your daughter with your partner a sitting tenant on your half of the house

Best bet is to speak to a solicitor as mentioned

You want to buy the house as tenants in common (NOT joint tenants) with a 50% share each (or whatever share you specify), you (personally) then want to make a will leaving your share of the property to your daughter.
If/when you die your share is then transferred to her and your partner still has her original share.

If you bought the house as joint tenants then if you die the property immediately goes to your partner – you don’t want this [at the moment, it seems].

You can always change the type of ownership at some point in the future.

This seems about right to me but you defo need solicitors to advise you though as IANAL

Pretty sure you can set up a will where your daughter gets the house but the wife can live in it as long as she wants.

This is it. Leave it to your daughter with the proviso that your partner can live in it until she dies/remarries/cohabits/for ten years from your date of death, or whatever. Do not leave it to your partner and expect her to leave it to your daughter. Who knows what the rest of her life may throw up.
Speak to a Solicitor, a proper one, not a “will writer”. A couple of hundred quid spent now will potentially save your daughter, and your partner, a fortune later.

Quality thread.

This is it. Leave it to your daughter with the proviso that your partner can live in it until she dies/remarries/cohabits/for ten years from your date of death, or whatever. Do not leave it to your partner and expect her to leave it to your daughter. Who knows what the rest of her life may throw up.

Exactly this. Don’t trust your partner, you have no idea what she may do (or be persuaded to do) after you’re dead. See a solicitor, get it all down in writing and clear to everybody, and that problem will never arise.

I’d still be inclined to set-up some life insurance that pays out to your daughter only. An asset you can’t get at for 10+ years* isn’t much of an asset (IMO).

(*and even then there may be issues getting the remaining partner out – it’s easy to stall the selling of a house if you don’t want to move out).

Hi,

As ever I will declare a professional interest. I own and run a Will Writing company.

Your situation is far from unusual. Most of what you need to do can be done with your Will. Firstly any property that you buy should be bought as Tenants in Common with your partner. This allows you to specify from the outset the respective shares in the property (these can be unequal but the default is 50/50). But the big advantage is that you are free to dispose of your share as you want to on death.

The other way of owning a property is Joint Beneficial Tenants, most properties are owned this way. If you buy this way and die the other joint owner inherits the property by survivorship and you cannot direct your share by Will. You just rely on the survivor to do the right thing when he or she dies (not advisable).

So back to the issue at hand. Assuming that you have purchased the property as Tenants in Common your will should give an Immediate post death interest in possession to your partner – with the ultimate gift going to your daughter. This can be set up so that it terminates on your partner’s death or on a subsequent marriage, or even if she starts co-habiting with someone else.

This arrangement is a type of trust and will be managed by trustees – you will appoint these in the Will, normally one would be the partner but you would need one or two people to act as trustees for your daughter’s interests.

Please be aware that although this arrangement achieves the outcome that you want it can have serious implications regarding inheritance tax (too complex to go into on a web forum) so you need to get some good advice. You also need to be aware that that advice might include the words GET MARRIED 😯 .

You may rest assured that if your partner ‘puts you under the patio’ the doctrine of forfeiture would ensure that she couldn’t benefit from your demise (assuming she gets caught).

If you need anything more, or want to be put in touch with someone who can help my e-mail address is in my profile and I have contacts in most areas who are reliable and I would trust.

Hope that helps.

Nick.

It is fairly common to leave someone a life interest in an asset, which entitles them to enjoyment of the asset while they are alive, and then it passes to your ultimate beneficiary on their death. However, you should speak to a solicitor as not sure how much such an arrangement costs to administer.

Thanks for all of the replies. Thoroughly appreciated.
Nick, very much appreciate your advice and offer of further assistance. I’ll be in touch if I need more.

Plan will be to have life insurance that would pay off any outstanding balance of the mortgage, with some left over (for funeral costs and a lump sum).
My daughter normally lives with her mum (who’s financially independent from me), so there’d be no immediate requirement for any financial support on my death – but will plan for some anyway.

Others have said but I’m going to say it again ….

Solicitor.
Tax adviser.

They will tell you how to make what you want happen and the tax issues and exposures with it.

Be aware also that the government are adept at moving goal posts on inheritance and other taxes so you need to be reviewing these arrangements regularly to make sure you don’t leave an unexpected tax bill.