2nd opinion on will advice, unmarried couple

A

Adelie

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Just wondering does this make sense. Partner and I thought we’d make a will, leaving most assets to children to avoid inheritance tax. Solicitor advised leaving it all to each other so it would be easily accessible in the event it was needed, as kids are very young. That seems logical alright. Is that typical advice? Should we seek specialist advice? We’d be looking at 6 figure tax bills.
 
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It's really impossible to advise without knowing for each of you:
- your rough ages
-life policies (if any)
-number of children (adult or not)
-extent of assets and debts
-separation orders in place (if any)
-reason why you are not married, and if this might change

If you have assets in most cases the most sensible thing for people in a committed relationship to do is get married.
 
Your plan sounds like the tail wagging the dog. The practical implications of this ( if one of you dies, or if you separate ) sound messy,

If you do implenment your plan, its not" we’d make A will". You would have to a will each and you can only leave assets which you owe personallly in a will, not jointly owned assets.

If you currently own your hosue as joint tenants, you will have to change this to tenants in common where you own half the house each.
You both leave you half to the children in your wills,

What happens if your partner dies
- You owe half a house, your children own the other half ( in trust probably). You cant sell the house, if you need to move, as you dont own the whole house.

As above, if there are reasons why you can't or won't get married, you need to listen carefully to your solicitors advice.
 
Adelie said:
Just wondering does this make sense. Partner and I thought we’d make a will, leaving most assets to children to avoid inheritance tax. Solicitor advised leaving it all to each other so it would be easily accessible in the event it was needed, as kids are very young. That seems logical alright. Is that typical advice? Should we sell specialist advice? We’d be looking at 6 figure tax bills.
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Get married.
 
If to you marriage = wedding & all the palaver that goes with it then rethink this. Agree and organise a marriage ceremony at a registry office. Just need two witnesses and 200 EUR. Don't bother with any of the other parts of it, consider it an admin exercise similar to going to the solicitor to make a will. It's the easiest way to get the many protections and tax benefits that go with being a married couple. While I completely disagree with the different treatments of non married v married couples, in the real world anything can happen. You need to sometimes play the game without agreeing with the game rules.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
If you have
1) Young children
2) Substantial assets
3) A potential 6 figure CAT bill

you don't need to pay €200 per hour for specialist tax and legal advice, you need to make a one-off payment of €200 to the Registrar.

Brendan
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Steven Barrett said:
Get married.
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You mean I can't invoice them?!!!!!


I have had a number of clients over the years that have gotten married based on going through the financial planning process. Ireland's treatment of cohabiting couples in relation to inheritance is archaic and is in badly need of reform. Until it is, getting married is the solution.
 
If you are legally married and make a will you can leave all your assets to your spouse and vice aversa. There are very few tax problems for a typical couple. The remaining spouse can leave it all to the kids.

If you are cohabitating you will pay a lot of inheritance tax. Even if you leave it all to the kids they will pay tax on anything above the inheritance tax threshold.

Plus if you own a house what huskerdu said above applies.

Instead of paying for specialist advice, why not pay €200 fee, get a marriage certificate and consider it a tax planning document?
 
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