Will the existing will suffice to keep children's inheritance secure?

A long-married couple, together for over five decades with two children, has a mutual will established in 2005. The will stipulates that the surviving spouse will inherit the entirety of the deceased's estate with "free rights of disposal." However, the couple is seeking clarification on whether this arrangement is sufficient to ensure their children do not inherit their portion of the estate until both parents have passed away.

The core of their query revolves around the surviving spouse's inheritance rights. The will explicitly states that what the surviving spouse receives "they do not have the right to dispose of by testamentary means." This phrasing suggests a potential limitation on the surviving spouse's ability to bequeath assets inherited from the first deceased spouse.

To address this, the couple is inquiring whether a prenuptial agreement is also necessary. They want to ensure that their children's inheritance is protected and that assets remain within the family according to their wishes, specifically preventing the surviving spouse from altering the intended distribution to the children upon their own death.

SvD's Caroline Elander Knip is providing the legal guidance on this matter, aiming to clarify the implications of their existing mutual will and advise on whether additional legal instruments, such as a prenuptial agreement, are required to achieve their estate planning goals.