[jeff19]

I have moved out of my parents house which contained, due to my fathers death just my mother, the mortgage was paid off with the life insurance etc and she was self sufficient with income from a part time job, pension and income from investments. Nothing too extreme but easy enough to support herself, take holidays and not have to worry etc. She has since met another man and after a few years, he moved into her house (the old family home).

They have been together for a few years now (no more than five), and I wonder whether there would be any entitlement to him if they split, or god forbid, my mam passed away.

The main question here is what are her rights if they split up? They do seem happy but it's something that has been mentioned by her a couple of times now and I said I'd look into it.

He has two grown up children and I have a sister who has also moved out so dependents are not involved here on either side.

Thanks for your consideration,

Jeff

[JudyKayTee]

He is not ENTITLED to inherit. However, your Mother could certainly name him in her Will. Anything they own jointly will pass to him without a Will.

[ebaines]

Jeff - it might help to know where your mother lives - what country or state? There may be common law marriage issues depending on your state. As a general comment- in general your mother's assets are safe, especially if her beau has his own source of income (social security, pension, etc) - very few unmarried partners get caught up in "palimony" issues when they split up. You may have an issue if she dies and leaves the house to you in that he is now basically a tenant inyour house, so it may take a while to get him to move out. There would also be an issue if she were to mingle her assets with his - such as joint checking or investment accounts - untanging co-mingled assets can be a nightmare. I would also be concerned about him influencing her now to change her will - maybe leaving him the house or other assets that may have come from your father, so that when your mother dies he inherits what was originally your father's assets. And then later when the BF dies these assets end up with the BF's family instead of yours.