TAS De facto separation

[Reggie]

My de facto partner of 29yrs and I are in the process of separation. We co-own a block of land and are both on the title.
He has told me that he has recently made a will and has named me to inherit his share of land in the case of his death happening before mine.
He has requested that I do the same as he feels that he might be in trouble if I died before him.
My questions are
Would he automatically inherit my share if I was to die first?
If I name him to inherit my share, would that impact me later if I wished to subdivide the land and sell my share (given we are both still living)?
Could there be other reasons for this request during a separation?
Thank you for your time.

 

[Tim W]

No, he's worried that if you die intestate,
that he will not inherit in the same way that you would if he dies.

First things first - get a look at his will.
That's to see if he's telling you the truth about what it says.

 

[Reggie]

Thank you Tim for your suggestion. I will ask to see it.

 

[lostinspace]

geez that should have been in place long ago, and when my ex split I did exactly the opposite, so it will depends on what sort of post relationship you have. Separating means that, splitting up everything

 

[Reggie]

Agreed, but better late than never? We are separating because I confronted him with how his behaviour ( control, him not trusting me when I got my own bank account, anger when I decided to build a cabin on our land in order move out of dirt-floor one room "dwelling", and ensuing silent treatment for months at a time... and more).
He has blamed my behaviour on menopause.
I would like to sell and move to start the rest of my life without him. He doesn't want to sell, wants to be "block buddies". He's being better behaved than ever. I am trying to save money for attorney, but finances are beyond tight atm.

 

[lostinspace]

Life can be difficult dealing with these situations and only you can decide what you want to do, I was not meddling in your affairs or asking to explain.

I was kind of saying, if you are unsure, do find the money to at least speak to someone who knows about wills and family law so you can properly decide what you feel is best for both of your situations. No one can know what is best for you both, you had the relationship and only the both of you can decide what you want and what you want the relationship to be like afterwards or even if that is a concern at all.

I can only warn that if you both dig in and both get legal help, you will end up with a mess and estranged most likely. Being reasonable is the key.

If finishing up, you both need to have it all very clear, there is nothing wrong with leaving him your assets if you so wish, with most people that would not be an incentive to do something stupid, and he is probably legit concerned about the future, and is understandable. If your property settlement is done legally and properly, there is no downside to leaving him your assets if you wish, but you may want to limit other powers and decisions about your life. This is where a proper legal will is needed.

I will put it this way, when my ex split, all she was worried about was getting her hands on as much of the money as she could, first thing I did once I knew she was not going to be reasonable, was had my will changed and where my assets would go if anything happened and who had rights to make decisions.

 

[Reggie]

Thank you Lostinspace, for your reply. No offence taken.
Unfortunately, the land is the only asset I have.
I will seek out legal advice when I can afford to.
My ex will almost certainly dig in, sadly.