ᐅ Future inheritance in blended families

face26 schrieb:

Be careful! Getting married does not change the issue with the property. It still belongs solely to the partner after the marriage, and if a house is built on it, the same applies to that.

However, he would inherit at least half if the partner passes away. And in case of a divorce, assuming a community property regime, he would also be entitled to half of the increase in value (and the house would count as such).
Yes, but overall, this is definitely a case for a lawyer/notary and a tax advisor.
Above all, the original poster should be clear about what they want. If, as the thread title suggests, they only want to secure their daughter’s inheritance, the situation might be different than if they also want to protect their investment in the shared house.

Tolentino schrieb:

However, he would inherit at least half if his partner passes away. And if they divorce (assuming community of accrued gains), he would also be entitled to half of the increase in value (and the house would count as such).

And what does the daughter receive from the house if he dies?
Marriage doesn't necessarily resolve this, even though it does bring some regulatory effects.
As mentioned before, there are several pitfalls involved, so consulting a notary or lawyer specializing in inheritance law would be the right step.

It's also important to carefully consider what you actually want in advance.

face26 schrieb:

And what does the daughter get from the house when he dies?

If he dies before the partner? Interesting question. Probably nothing. My sense of justice would say that the increase in value during the marriage should be determined, and she should then "inherit" that.
But of course, we can’t give legal advice here. This is basically just brainstorming.

I would be very interested in further updates from the original poster, as I’m facing a somewhat similar situation from the other side.

We are buying land and building a house (only I finance it, and only my name is on the land register). My partner, who has a child from a previous relationship, is moving in and will contribute work. Naturally, I want to secure and treat them both fairly.
We plan to marry. We also want to have children together.
And then it gets really interesting, for example if we both die in an accident:
- No children together yet: her child gets nothing; my parents and sisters inherit everything
- With children together: the older child (hers) gets nothing; the children we have together inherit everything
- My partner clearly doesn’t like either scenario. Neither do I. Ideally, I would adopt her child, but that’s not possible while the biological father is still involved.
And then there is of course the case of separation or divorce.
You really don’t want to think about this kind of thing, but you have to. I always say I trust my partner today, but I can’t speak for the person she might become in the future.
So, a visit to a lawyer/notary is definitely on our agenda.

Good luck

Tolentino

Tolentino schrieb:

My sense of justice would say that the increase in value during the marriage should be determined here as well, and she should then "inherit" that.

In principle, that’s correct. But the problem is probably that he has paid a significant part of the house off, while the daughter inherits only half of the increase in value, if there is any at all.
That’s why I said that getting married alone doesn’t help much in this case.

Tolentino schrieb:

And it gets really interesting if, for example, both of us die in an accident:

You can break it down further:

- Are you already married at that time?
- Who dies first? The exact time matters. Sounds morbid, but it’s true. Some very complicated situations have arisen from this.

-> That’s why you should go to a notary. Even more important for blended families.

face26 schrieb:

Basically correct, but the problem is that he probably paid off a significant part of the house, while the daughter only inherits half of the increase in value, if there even is any.
That’s why I said that marriage alone doesn’t help much.

But when you compare land with a house to land without a house, that’s definitely a 100% increase in value. So, in case of doubt, he might even come out better if, for example, he contributed less than half to the financing...

face26 schrieb:

- Already married at that time?
- Who dies first? The exact time can matter. Sounds morbid, but it’s true. There have already been some really unfortunate situations.

Well, in my example, I already assumed they were married.
If not married, and without a will, the situation is quite clear.

face26 schrieb:

-> That’s why you should go to a notary. Even more important for blended families.

Yes, exactly!