Law Firm Says More Parents Are Using Legal Agreements To Protect Their Children’s Inheritance

With house prices continuing to soar and eye watering deposits increasingly common, more first-time buyers are relying on loans from the ‘bank of mum and dad’ to help them buy a home.

Family law experts at Irwin Mitchell say they are seeing a rising number of savvy parents who want to protect their, often considerable, investments by asking their children to sign a ‘pre-nup’ or cohabitation agreement with their partner.

The legal agreements are designed to ensure the parental contribution towards a new property, which may often form part of an inheritance, remains within the family should the relationship break down.

Figures released by housing charity, Shelter, earlier this year, said that 40% of parents have helped their kids meet housing costs by handing over £23,000 on average.

Alison Hawes , a specialist family and divorce lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said the firm is seeing an increasing amount of clued-up parents who want to make sure they leave any inheritance exclusively in the hands of their adult children, not their respective spouses or partners.

Expert Opinion

“Couples use pre-nups for many reasons but in the past year we have seen an increase of parents who are requiring a child to have one in place with their spouse or partner, before they will lend them money to get a foot on the property ladder. <br/> <br/>“Naturally parents want to do all they can to protect their offspring and protecting their assets and investments, which may form part of an inheritance or retirement fund, is part of that. <br/> <br/>“We have dedicated teams of legal experts nationwide which can offer comprehensive advice and services for parents who are wanting to help their children but need some reassurance that their investment is being protected in the sad situation where a relationship comes to an end.”