willman Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 The father legally has no authority to do anything unless he is a)in the will b)the only surviving relative. The children inherit everything if there is no will and they were not in a recognised marital/civil relationship. As the parent of the child the mother(partner) will automatically have control over everything on the childrens behalf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junction1 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Yes, it's sad- also a very strong recommendation for EVERYONE (married, unmarried, rich, poor- as long as aged 18+) to make a Will. And, no- my firm does not deal with making Wills. This advice is wholly disinterested. And for the 'partners' who have been together for donkey's years, also consider tying the knot in order to be able to take spouses benefits from each others none state pensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaughingCow Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 What a sad and unsettling situation all round. As Jeffrey Shaw says, it is really important to make a will, regardless of one's relationship status, especially if there are children involved. Even if married and if there are children, only half of the deceased's estate will go to the surviving spouse and the remaining half to any children. That's not necessarily true, it's not split into halves under intestacy rules it's split depending on the value of the estate. Unless the deceased was quite wealthy the chances are it will all go the the surviving spouse. Also if they were married the chances are the house was owned jointly, and they may have had joint bank accounts. All this will pass to the other joint owner automatically (i.e. the spouse) and the children will be left with very little. Obviously this is all by-the-by for the OP but as others have said it's worth pointing out the benefit of having a valid will in place no matter what age you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaughingCow Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 And for the 'partners' who have been together for donkey's years, also consider tying the knot in order to be able to take spouses benefits from each others none state pensions. And tax reliefs associated with capital gains tax and inheritance tax too! The government has and always will encourage people to marry hence the financial incentives that come with marriage (after the initial expense of the wedding!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melthebell Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 sorry to hear about your friends loss, specially at this time of year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.