Articles and More!: Money Morals: Should I tell my children that I intend to cut them out of my will?

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Money Morals: Should I tell my children that I intend to cut them out of my will?

PUBLISHED: 03:56 EST, 10 October 2013 | UPDATED: 04:22 EST, 10 October 2013

In our Money Morals series we invite readers to help solve a dilemma. This week, should you tell families members that they won’t, in fact, be getting anything when you die?

I’m 78 and for more than twenty years I have had a will that splits my estate, which is my house plus a small amount of cash savings, between my second wife (roughly half), and son and daughter from my first marriage (roughly a quarter each).

My three grand children would get small amounts from my cash savings, running to a few thousand pounds each at the moment.

Generation game: Should our reader tell his grown up children that they won;t be getting an inheritance?

However, my wife recently passed away so I assume that her share will now go to my children.

But I am seriously considering changing my will to remove my two children and have their shares split three ways between the grandchildren. It means each grandchild would get about £90,000 each if my house sells for the expected amount after I die.

I have not been close to my children, both now in their 40s, for the past ten to fifteen years since divorcing their mother and marrying my second wife. Neither is in desperate need of the money and I have no particular desire for them to benefit.

Whilst I am happy to remove them from the will and put the estate in trust until each of the grandchildren reaches 18, I worry that my children will try to challenge the will, or persuade the grandchildren to hand all or some of the money to them.

Should I tell my children now that I intend to cut them out of my will and do not want them to benefit?