Poll
Question:
HAVE YOU MADE A WILL?
Option 1: YES I Have A Will
Option 2: NO I Don't Have A Will
Have you made a WILL...?
Die without a will, and there are strict rules on where your estate (assets) goes.
Last week the rules for married people or civil partners in England and Wales changed.
Got kids? Now the first £250,000 goes to your spouse (it was £125k); the remainder to your children. No kids? The first £450,000 (was £200k) goes to your spouse; the remainder goes to any surviving parents, if there aren't any, siblings, if there aren't any to your spouse. Don't leave it to chance:
Dying without a will can make it complex for your family, especially if you are not married, so the best solution is to make a will, and plan for any inheritance issues, before the worst happens.
Some of your questions might be answered here
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/civil/probate/why_will.htm
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/protect/inheritance-tax-planning-iht
Write a fully legal WILL online and print it off
http://www.tenminutewill.co.uk/main.cgi?d_ref=microsoft&d_ref_2=make_a_will
Make a WILL, seal it in an envelope, tell someone you have made one, and forget about it.
It's not morbid to make one, it's forward planning and peace of mind:)
Lauren :)
Funnily enough we've been talking about it for ages......but as yet done nothing. You're right Lauren, it isn't morbid, it is very sensible and takes so much worry off those who are left behind.
Thanks for the prod, now I have to just get hubbly into the right frame of mind to do, rather than just talk ;)
Word of warning from one who as been there. Be very careful as to who you have as executes. When my husband died of a heart attack neither of the them want to no. Cost me a lot in both heart ache and money. Make sure you revise your wills on a regular basis. Peoples lives move on and change. I make a point of revising mine every 5 years. Feb 7 always a sad day for me but makes me aware how lives can be there one minute and gone the next. Its 18 years now and I've learned to live with it but make no mistake you never get over it.
The reason I brought this subject up...We've had two members of the family die this year.
One left a will with everything detailed right down to the hymns he wanted...
The other is going to be a mess to sort out...you can imagine the vultures have come out of the woodwork already ::)
If I had their money and properties I would have loved to have left it to a donkey sanctury, left them NOTHING and wiped the smiles off their greedy little faces :o
Where there's a Will there's a relative... :-X
My OH is trying very hard to spend everything. It took us years to get round to making a Will and made it 3 years ago now. With me having no children, no siblings it had to be done. If we had both been killed in an accident with me being the youngest everything we had would have gone to my deceased mother (she was alive at the time we made up our Wills). This is a good reminder to folk who have not done it yet.
Made ours when our second son was born. Have made provisions for them if we were to die before they are 16 and of course have included my step daughter. My daughters biggest concern is who is getting my jewelery, and I don't have much, she wanted to make sure she got the lot! Little darling. ;D
ps - the will template on that link is valid for England and Wales, not for Scotland which has slightly different laws around inheritance. The tax thing is the same though.
Cheers
Good idea to revise your will. When husband died 6 years ago one of the Executors (our Accountant) had died several years ago. To enable me to have the few (worthless :)) shares put in my name I had to supply an original Death Certificate. Luckily I knew where his son lived and he kindly lent me an original. I have now named my son and youngest daughters as Executors.
Another point.
Who-ever witnesses your signature on a will cannot benefit from it. (Executors of a will can be beneficiaries.)
we made a will when we married 2 and a half years ago mainly because we have 3 children none with each other, hubby thought the will should go 50 50 half to be shared between his 2 children the other half to my daughter, however i said we have 3 children everything will be split 3 ways equally and this is what we have done. my daughter has the uneviable priviledge of having my parrot should he be alive after us (they live 50 years) if she is unable to take him them my step daughter will or money will be given to keep him in a rescue somewhere my sister who is 3 yrs older then me is executive
My Mother died 18 months ago, less than 2 weeks before she died she 1) made a new will 2) Signed a document giving my oldest Brother Power of Attorney!
My oldest Brother is also the sole executor of her will. The will divides her share of the 'company shares' equally been the 5 of us. However the house that she once owned outright is now mortgaged and rented out. On the day her house was mortgaged my brother purchased the property he lives in now and she lived there for a year before her death.
Another paper trail tells us that the director of the company mentioned above is my oldest Brother and he holds 50% of the shares. It turns out that the company is my mother's house. So it seems my brother was so determined to get everything he's conned his own Mother into forming a company and giving him half the shares i.e. half the house not happy with that as executor he's sitting on the whole thing and telling us she didn't have anything left to divide.
The will was witnessed by his ex girlfriend when they were practically engaged.
The whole thing is very suspicious.
From what you say, Kea, I'd guess you certainly have grounds for complaint. Who witnessed her signature? If your older brother did, me thinks he's on dodgy ground.
If you have written a will and described your wishes for a funeral (or not) and have signed and dated it, does it matter if it is witnessed or not? Would that be still as binding, or just more open to challenge should someone decide to contest it?
Quote from: Deb P on February 13, 2009, 13:12:17
If you have written a will and described your wishes for a funeral (or not) and have signed and dated it, does it matter if it is witnessed or not? Would that be still as binding, or just more open to challenge should someone decide to contest it?
If it's the only one made out and written in your own hand and signed by you it makes it a copy of your wishes and will stand providing there is no contest of it. If there is, then it's not over difficult to have your wishes altered, especially if it concerns division of goods/property.
It's suprising what comes out of the woodwork when there's something for nothing in the offing!
Those witnessing your signature need not read the contents. They sign to witness your signature, nothing more. Put 'Witness this my signature and the date. They sign, then print their name and their address.
If you want a DIY one, the forms can be got on-line for a small fee, but providing your not talking of anything complicated, it's quite in order to make your own. Ideally, discuss your wishes to all those mentioned in the will. That way there are witnesses to your wishes.
(If in doubt, get legal advice for your particular case.)
Thanks Ken.
My estate will be little to argue over, but I do have specific wishes about disposal arrangements which OH and kids know about. I re- wrote my will before having an op. a few years ago, that was sufficiently serious to promt me to make sure my wished were documented! I wonder if I should now include some Allotment Committee directives about the disposal of my plots!! Or some decent champagne (beer for saddad) to celerate my passing in style ;D ;D
You're on... the solicitor nearly had kittens we me and OH said we would like to be scattered on the allotment... ::)
That's knack**erd the beans for future lotty holders then......... ;D
I remember reading somewhere that you can get your DNA merged with an apple tree....not sure how that happens! Although how your relatives would feel about eating a bit of you every time they ate an apple........ ???
Quote from: saddad on February 11, 2009, 23:07:21
Where there's a Will there's a relative... :-X
Sorry saddad. but you missed out the word greedy.
valmarg
Quote from: Deb P on February 13, 2009, 22:43:36
I remember reading somewhere that you can get your DNA merged with an apple tree....not sure how that happens! Although how your relatives would feel about eating a bit of you every time they ate an apple........ ???
Talk about getting under your skin..Shish!... :D
(Are we getting slightly off topic, peeps?)
Quote from: kenkew on February 13, 2009, 22:56:17
(Are we getting slightly off topic, peeps?)
Sorry.......... :-[
Have a will which gets updated everytime I re-mortgage 'cos the solicitor who handles my conveyancing throws it in free of charge. It's also to ensure that my estate is split according to my wishes as I have no OH & never have had nor do I have children/dependents.
As time goes by the split in my estate changes due to nieces/nephews growing up & joining the work force etc.
Having seen the debacle/family arguments that occurred when the grandparents died I have executors who are trusted friends who I know will carry out my wishes. They are also aware of the secondary document which states in details my funeral wishes regarding what to dress me in, what music to use, cremation over burial & where to scatter my ashes.
CC
Quote from: valmarg on February 13, 2009, 22:56:11
Quote from: saddad on February 11, 2009, 23:07:21
Where there's a Will there's a relative... :-X
Sorry saddad. but you missed out the word greedy.
valmarg
I agree he did miss that very important word.........every family has one greedy and my Mum chose her most greedy and devious son as executor.
Unfortunately although we have been told we have a case we have also been told it will cost more than we will gain. She had been warned that he wasn't trustworthy, particulary by our Dad, but he was her favourite.
My Mother wrote me letters and told me how she wanted her personal belongings distributed but they're not worth the paper they're written on because the will written less than 2 weeks before her death leaves the distribution at the discretion of my Brother. This includes the dinner set that was to be mine but because it was too difficult and costly to send over here (from NZ) i suggested it should be given to my nephew (my brother's own son) and his wife because of the care they gave her in her last years. Apparently they haven't been given it.
I thought I'd dig this old subject up again. As we have just lost a loved one and it prompted us into making our own wills.
I know everyone situation is different but I thought it would be good to share with you a few things I learnt on Saturday about wills and the law.
I live with my partner in "his" house. If he should become ill, for instance had a stroke and needed care that I could not provide, the government would force the sale of his house to pay for his care in a care home, currently about £1200 a week. And I would be homeless. We have now made provision for this by making ourselves "tenants in common" which means that upon his death I would borrow his house until my death. Then it goes to his children.
The other thing I learnt was that, if probate takes longer than 6 months, the estate is liable to inheratance tax @ 18%. Now we don't want to be giving them this! So its in our own interests to keep things up to date.
If you have someone named on a will, say 5 years ago, that is no longer at that address, he/she has to prove that they are who they say they are and probate will want to see say a utility bill with the name and adddress of the named person at the said address. Now I wouldn't be able to find an old bill from previous addresses, So I am guessing no one else could! so just to nudge to ev1 to keep things up to date to keep things simple to sort out afterwards.
Also if there are children under 18 years. Even if you think you have nothing to leave in a will, you still need to make one to provide provision for your children. They will automatically go into care, if there are no parents and no will.Its to protect the child from child abuse. And then a relative would have to go through like an adoption process to get them back out. Only need to nominate someone to care for them upon on your death... easy.
Hope these few things are of help to someone.
Know its not a nice subject, but hope this might be useful to some folks.
Thanks for that info, Jes'.
It really is a minefield when it comes to the 'crunch' and it's good advice to tread careful and know the 'rules'!!(Who does?)
But how sad it is that the law can step in and upset the wishes of those who have worked so hard to create what they have, those who simply want their hard earned efforts to be passed on to their loved ones, to do right by those who have cared for them. Those wishes sometimes seemed to be misinterpreted by those not close to the person in question.
Is it really just down to money? If so, how sad.
:(