Rights of Residence for Blended Families
Let your partner stay in the family home after you're gone, while still making sure the house eventually passes to your children. A well-drafted right of residence does both.
- Protect a surviving partner's home
- Preserve the property for your children
- Clear maintenance and outgoings rules
What's included
- Right of residence for your nominated partner
- Outgoings and maintenance provisions
- Re-partnering and moving-out triggers
- Underlying property gift to ultimate beneficiaries
- Portability clauses (can the partner downsize?)
- Trustee powers over the arrangement
You want your partner taken care of, and your kids to inherit
In blended families, a straightforward 'everything to my spouse' will can accidentally disinherit your biological children. But 'everything to my kids' leaves your surviving partner without a home. A right of residence lets you do both - the partner stays in the home, the home eventually passes to your children.
- Prevents disinheritance in blended families
- Gives a surviving partner security for life
- Preserves the property for your children
- Avoids awkward downsizing decisions in grief
A clear process, not a legal maze.
Map out the family
Who's your partner? Who are your children? Who owns what? We lay out the full picture so the right-of-residence clause actually fits your situation.
Choose the terms
For life, or until re-partnering? Who pays rates? Can the partner sell and move elsewhere? We talk through each option and its consequences.
Draft and include in your will
Sam drafts the right-of-residence clauses and integrates them into your will, with the underlying property gift directed to your ultimate beneficiaries.
Here's what you get when you work with Sam.
After my father's stroke we needed to restructure quite a bit. Sam took the time to understand the full family picture, not just the legal documents. Felt like working with someone who actually cared.
Frequently asked questions
A right of residence is a clause in your will that gives someone (usually a surviving spouse or partner) the legal right to live in a nominated property for a set period - often until their death or re-partnering. The underlying ownership of the property passes to your ultimate beneficiaries.
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Learn moreKeep your home in the family - for everyone
Book a conversation with Sam. Right-of-residence arrangements work best when they're drafted with your specific family in mind.
- Free 20-minute initial conversation
- Fixed-fee quotes before any work begins
- Home visits available across Adelaide
- Typically 2-3 weeks to signed documents