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Am I The Next Of Kin

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dodedo | 15:54 Sat 24th Mar 2018 | Law
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Need help please, my partner wants to make a will leaving the home we share to his grand children, if in the future we get married and he doesn't make a new will is the the will before we got married invalid as I would be his next of kin, thanks for your help in advance
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I don't believe the law recognises the title. When I had a will written the solicitor advised adding a paragraph, something about in anticipation of marriage, or some such wording, so the will remained valid whether it happened or not.
15:58 Sat 24th Mar 2018
When you marry, any existing will is automatically revoked (cancelled) and becomes no longer valid.
I don't believe the law recognises the title.

When I had a will written the solicitor advised adding a paragraph, something about in anticipation of marriage, or some such wording, so the will remained valid whether it happened or not.
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If, after marriage, someone does not make a new will, then when they die the law of intestacy decides how their assets are divided. Usually, the entire estate would go to the wife, or husband.
Question Author
There are very helpful answers guys, given me food for thought, very interesting answer " old geezer" I thank you all
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As said a Will is revoked after marriage except if the Will is made “in contemplation”. It is not enough too expect to marry in general, or some time in the future – you must expect to marry a specific person, and in a reasonable amount of time.
If you are married and there is no Will, you still would not necessarily get everything, it would depend on the value of the Estate.
Have a look at the flow chart below, which shows how an estate is divided.
http://www.heir-tight-wills.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Rules-of-Intestacy-1-Oct-2014.pdf
Question Author
I do know in law anyone can be nominated as your next of kin, there isn't a legal definition and it doesn't have to be a blood relative
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Next of kin is a title that can be given and is primarily used in order for emergency services to know who to keep informed about an individual’s condition and treatment. There are no legal rights as a result of this title. This can create difficulties if additional measures are not put in place to manage the relative's or loved one’s affairs. Without legal rights, decisions cannot be made by a next of kin.
If a next of kin is to have the power to make decisions and be able to manage financial affairs, they will need to be appointed as an Attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney.
Next of Kin is anyone you want to nominate, and used while you are alive so does not involve the Will. They have no Inheritance Rights.
Mainly in medical matters, GPs and hospitals will ask for a next of kin, someone to contact if you are taken into hospital, to update and discuss your medical condition with. They can only advise but cannot counteract any of your decisions or stop Medics acting in your best interests.
Most of the time they are relatives.
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we need the People Who Know to help out here.
My fave barmaid and Chris - who is a will writer may add definitively

Let us get away from next-of-kin and get post Wills Act 1837 ! - o hahaha I have a good story about that - but later

If you are not married then you have no right to inherit under the current intestacy laws - you really have to get this fact on board - that the people who DO inherit may chuck you out onto the street on the death of your partner. As my sister did to my brother just in passing.

If he makes a will and then you at last get him to pop the question then the will is invalidated and you would inherit-ish under the intestacy laws as a widow
UNLESS he specifically says in the will that the will is in contemplation of marriage ( it is has to be to you). I do not think you should rely on this

3) forget this next of kin rubbish - get a will - there must be a way !

4) there is a lot on wills in these law threads as Chris has stepped up so many times.

5) er that is about it - oh the story. Someone said to me - "as a landlord why are you writing your tenants' wills?"
and I said: " old Mrs X - the one who is racing me to the grave with secondary cancer wondered about wills, and how much was a simple one. And she told me that there was a knock on the door - and there was her sister whom she had not seen for 20y. The sister had heard of the ill-health and announced that SHE was a next-of-kin and therefore was gonna nurse her poorly sister to the grave and then take possession of the house !"
Yes it is a tenancy, I am the landlord
so Mrs X said: I need a will dont I ?
yup she sure did

as do you ......
next of kin is nothing to do with wills
it is now to do with medical decisions - which we arent discussing here ( nor probate)
so let us concentrate on the matter in hand

from your point of view does your partner need to make a will - yes he does

o hahahaha another story - i told my cleaner she needed to make a will which she did - leaving all the moolah to the hospital that treated her for er cancer and nothing to the kids ! I didnt quite expect that, I said to the kids who Understood.
I am the eldest and I have a slightly younger brother, he acted as next of kin in all of Mum's affairs and I was happy for him to do so. It can be anyone.
Why is this thread so long?

Just make a will specifying who gets what and cut out uncertainty!
why is this thread so long
quite a few of contributors think next-of-kin has something to do with wills
it doesnt

hahahaha another story
another tenant another will and another death
we went to collect the dead mans stuff that had been retained by the coroners office, as executor ( I was the executors little helper) - and the coroners officer no less said - and you will make sure that this reaches the - - - next-of-kin ?
and I said - the belongings will be distributed by the executor according to the will - you should know this!

she chucked me out
To try to summarise the important bits of what's above (and to add a few more important bits):

1. If you own your home with your partner as 'joint tenants' then the laws relating to both wills and intestacy are TOTALLY IRRELEVANT anyway. If one of you dies, the other will AUTOMATICALLY become the owner of the property. (Nothing written in a will can change that).

2. If you and your partner own your home as 'tenants in common' then each of you is entitled to leave your share of the house (which would normally be a half, unless otherwise agreed) to whomever you choose in your wills.

3. Similarly, if your partner owns the whole of the house he can leave it to whomever he chooses in his will.

4. When someone marries their will is AUTOMATICALLY rendered invalid UNLESS it was written 'in contemplation of marriage'. (That phrase must be included within the wording of the will. Further, the testator must have genuinely been contemplating marriage at the time that he/she wrote the will).

5. When there is no valid will (which, of course, includes the circumstances where a will has been invalidated through marriage) the laws relating to intestacy apply. They are explained in the flowchart here:
http://www.manchesters.co.uk/Intestacy-flowchart.php
or you can work through this:
https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

6. As you'll see from the above links, the partner of a deceased person has, in the first instance, NO RIGHTS WHATSOEVER to inherit anything from them (unless they were actually married to the deceased person or in a civil partnership with them).

7. Under the provisions of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, a person who has lived at the same address as a deceased person, as if they were their spouse, has the right to apply to a court to VARY the terms of their will (OR to vary the intestacy rules) in order to receive 'reasonable financial provision'. So, despite what I've written above, an unmarried partner of a deceased person MIGHT actually be able to receive an inheritance from their deceased partner. However the court procedure is COMPLEX and EXPENSIVE, so it's FAR better to get things properly sorted out before the death occurs.

8. I've deliberately avoided using the term 'next of kin' above, as it has no single meaning. As far as this question is concerned, my links in paragraph 5 above (explaining the intestacy rules) are what matter here. Elsewhere (as in nominating 'next of kin' when you go into hospital) you're free to choose anyone you like, irrespective of whether you share any relationship with them.
short answer yes - re read q
sozza

yu have a will in your favour
it is invalidated if you get married - if it doesnt contain The Words - and rules of intestacy apply - see Chris answer - where you get the lions share anyway

which is the answer to the question you posed


sozza

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