marigold
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You'll die if you don't do it......and you'll die if you do. Eventually.
I know it's been mentioned before, but just another reminder to make a WILL if you haven't already done so. A friend of mine died intestate last year and, although he'd probably shrug philosophically and say "sh1t happens", it would be an awful lot easier on his heirs if they didn't have to clear up the poop as well as grieving their loss.
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tahir
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Me and my little bruv were talking about this a couple of weeks ago, still haven't done anything about it 
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Mary-Jane
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Thanks for raising this again Marigold. My views on it are well documented... 
Tahir - stop faffing about and get on with it.
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marigold
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It's not much fun doing it, but consider it part of your responsibilities as a spouse and parent. It really isn't considerate to leave your dependents to sort out your intestacy because you didn't get around to making a will. And you do feel rather pleasantly grown-up when it's sorted 
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mochyn
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| tahir wrote: | | Me and my little bruv were talking about this a couple of weeks ago, still haven't done anything about it |
If you don't make a will I won't do your garden.
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tahir
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| mochyn wrote: | | If you don't make a will I won't do your garden. |
If you don't do me a garden we won't be able to build a house 
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lottie
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Don't just make a will and forget it either---life circumstances change, and wills need tweaking as well.
p.s. finally managed to track my dad's will to a solicitors office he last used 40 years ago---so let people know where it is!!!!
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marigold
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| tahir wrote: | | mochyn wrote: | | If you don't make a will I won't do your garden. |
If you don't do me a garden we won't be able to build a house |
Then you WILL need a will, won't you??? Get on with it!
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mochyn
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| tahir wrote: | | mochyn wrote: | | If you don't make a will I won't do your garden. |
If you don't do me a garden we won't be able to build a house |
That's alright: if you don't build a house you won't have anything to leave to anyone.
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tahir
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| mochyn wrote: | | That's alright: if you don't build a house you won't have anything to leave to anyone. |
What about me nuts?
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mochyn
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| tahir wrote: | | mochyn wrote: | | That's alright: if you don't build a house you won't have anything to leave to anyone. |
What about me nuts? |
I expect Karen will get those.
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Louisdog
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Hubby and I made mirror wills with a cheap kit from WHSmith; are these actually valid or were we wasting our time? 
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Mary-Jane
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| Louisdog wrote: | | Hubby and I made mirror wills with a cheap kit from WHSmith; are these actually valid or were we wasting our time? |
Provided you followed the instructions and had them witnessed there's no reason why they shouldn't be. The WH Smith packs are quite good as DIY wills go.
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Pel
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | Louisdog wrote: | | Hubby and I made mirror wills with a cheap kit from WHSmith; are these actually valid or were we wasting our time? |
Provided you followed the instructions and had them witnessed there's no reason why they shouldn't be. The WH Smith packs are quite good as DIY wills go. |
You can get DIY wills????? wow i never knew that, I'm assuming they are cheaper than going to a solictors? how do these DIY ones work?
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Louisdog
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Oh OK cool thanks M-J. We followed the 'structions and got them witnessed 'n' everything 
The pack was only about a tenner, it was either Smiths or Amazon. Since or situation is really straightforward, seemed like it might be worth a go.
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lottie
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My brother came into a substantial sum of money out of the blue about 6 months ago and realising he hadn't a will rushed out to W.H.Smiths and filled it in while doing a pub quiz and got his team members to witness it
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Louisdog
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Nice one
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Mary-Jane
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There's nothing wrong with DIY wills in general (what am I saying? ) provided your estate is very straightforward (e.g. all to your spouse). However, I would advise against them in the strongest possible terms if children and/or trusts are involved. In that case, go and see a solicitor and get it done professionally.
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Louisdog
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I am now wondering if they are cheaper than I was thinking to get done properly - anyone got any idea on the sort of price for two simple mirror wills from a solicitor?
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Mary-Jane
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| Louisdog wrote: | | I am now wondering if they are cheaper than I was thinking to get done properly - anyone got any idea on the sort of price for two simple mirror wills from a solicitor? |
Generally speaking about £100 for a straightforward will. Some firms will do a 'deal' on a pair of mirror wills. Someone on here was quoted £150 I think.
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sally_in_wales
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check your bank account- some come with a 'free' will writing service ( I only found out about this after I closed the relevant account  )
I've also found some free online templates for DIY wills, but only for uber simple ones.
Just out of interest MJ and our other esteemed legally-informed people, what happens in a case where a dead person is found to have written a will but nobody witnessed it? Is it automatically ignored or does it carry any weight at all?
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judith
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| sally_in_wales wrote: | | Just out of interest MJ and our other esteemed legally-informed people, what happens in a case where a dead person is found to have written a will but nobody witnessed it? Is it automatically ignored or does it carry any weight at all? |
Rob had one of those - as much use as a chocolate teapot.
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wellington womble
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If just want to divvy up my chattels (most to himself, a bit to Mum and Dad, and some keepsakes here and there) will a DIY job do, or should I get a man in?
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Mary-Jane
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| judith wrote: | | sally_in_wales wrote: | | Just out of interest MJ and our other esteemed legally-informed people, what happens in a case where a dead person is found to have written a will but nobody witnessed it? Is it automatically ignored or does it carry any weight at all? |
Rob had one of those - as much use as a chocolate teapot. |
'Fraid so. If it's not legally executed a chocolate teapot it is.
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Mary-Jane
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| wellington womble wrote: | | If just want to divvy up my chattels (most to himself, a bit to Mum and Dad, and some keepsakes here and there) will a DIY job do, or should I get a man in? |
What about your house?
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Behemoth
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | There's nothing wrong with DIY wills in general (what am I saying? ) provided your estate is very straightforward (e.g. all to your spouse). However, I would advise against them in the strongest possible terms if children and/or trusts are involved. In that case, go and see a solicitor and get it done professionally. |
I agree! (What am I saying )
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Rob R
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I've just found this:
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vegplot
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I haven't got one. I know I should. I need to see someone about making it tax efficient as there's a business, two properties and two children (not EV's) involved.
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Mary-Jane
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That's an intestacy diagram (referring to Rob's diagram).
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Rob R
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | That's an intestacy diagram (referring to Rob's diagram). |
Well done, you know your stuff
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vegplot
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | That's an intestacy diagram. |
Looks like a flow chart to me. I thought intestines were far more curly and didn't split off like that.
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Mary-Jane
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| Rob R wrote: | | Mary-Jane wrote: | | That's an intestacy diagram (referring to Rob's diagram). |
Well done, you know your stuff |
Gawd...
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Ian33568
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Downsizers Abroad : Check the status of any British Will in your country of residence. It is so much easier if you have a will that is drawn up in the country of any assets you may have and your English will may not cover assets or taxes abroad or at the very least complicate matters.
Draw up a will specifically dealing with any assets in that particular country - it will save a lot of unnecessary legal fees and possibly save you money on inheritance tax.
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Green Rosie
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We are off to the Notaire's on Monday to draw up a new will now we have moved to France. It's only taken us 18 months
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wellington womble
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | wellington womble wrote: | | If just want to divvy up my chattels (most to himself, a bit to Mum and Dad, and some keepsakes here and there) will a DIY job do, or should I get a man in? |
What about your house? |
It's mostly the banks. Is that separate? I need to get a man in, don't I?
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marigold
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| wellington womble wrote: | | Mary-Jane wrote: | | wellington womble wrote: | | If just want to divvy up my chattels (most to himself, a bit to Mum and Dad, and some keepsakes here and there) will a DIY job do, or should I get a man in? |
What about your house? |
It's mostly the banks. Is that separate? I need to get a man in, don't I? |
Have you got insurance that pays off your mortgage if one of you dies during it's term? If so, your estate might be worth more than you imagine . Your NHS death in service benefits are probably worth a bit too (though I'm not sure if they are included in your estate for inheritance purposes).
It's only a few hundred quid at most to get a will drawn up, but having one saves a lot more than that when the time comes.
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Bebo
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It's suprising how quickly it all mounts up. Got ours redone after we moved. Our solicitor asked for a rough breakdown of house value, investments, insurances (including things like death in service benefits from work), pensions etc. He advised that we should get married for tax reasons. Just goes to show that not all solicitors are soulless bloodsuckers, our is almost an old romantic.
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Bebo
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And to compensate for having a dig at solicitors then I will add the following as an independent view:
Don't be penny-pinchers, unless you are totally borasic lint get a solicitor to do your will or there is a good chance you (or your grieving spouse) will regret it.
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kevin.vinke
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We got our will sorted many years ago (aren“t we good) wasn“t too expensive I think there was a good will policy in force at the time
Now we are here (as far as I know the law here doesn“t let you leave everything to Batteresy dogs home and is very strict re division between heirs) I shal tak to OH re getting things in order. Very good advice for abroad downsizers, thank you.
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Mary-Jane
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| Ian33568 wrote: | | Downsizers Abroad : Check the status of any British Will in your country of residence. It is so much easier if you have a will that is drawn up in the country of any assets you may have and your English will may not cover assets or taxes abroad or at the very least complicate matters. |
Wills made in the UK will not cover other jurisdictions, thus those of you with assets abroad will have to make separate wills in those jurisdictions. Do take legal advice from lawyers in those jurisdictions because intestacy law varies from country to country.
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Mary-Jane
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| wellington womble wrote: | | Mary-Jane wrote: |
What about your house? |
It's mostly the banks. Is that separate? I need to get a man in, don't I? |
Go see a solicitor honey. Not that it's separate - just that it's part of your estate.
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Mary-Jane
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| Bebo wrote: | | Just goes to show that not all solicitors are soulless bloodsuckers, our is almost an old romantic. |
Nah - I'm a soulless bloodsucker... 
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Gervase
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Yup!
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Mary-Jane
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Isn't it time you came to bed dear...
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Bebo
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | Bebo wrote: | | Just goes to show that not all solicitors are soulless bloodsuckers, our is almost an old romantic. |
Nah - I'm a soulless bloodsucker... |
I did give you a plug afterwards to make up for it!
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Jonnyboy
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Don't she'll eat you after mating.
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Helen_A
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Warning on the 'bank' ones though... my parents looked at using the offer with their bank account, and found that it was dependent on the bank being the executor. Having had a hell of a time extracting an estate of less than £3K from a bank who had been nominated as executor (was interesting how quickly they went 'we don't want to bother here it all is' when a journalist rang their press office for a 'comment' ) they declined and a solicitor co-member of the Inst. Mng local comt. was, um, persuaded to do the honours (I think the chap finally accepted a couple of bottles so that some payment had been made....)
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judith
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| Bebo wrote: | And to compensate for having a dig at solicitors then I will add the following as an independent view:
Don't be penny-pinchers, unless you are totally borasic lint get a solicitor to do your will or there is a good chance you (or your grieving spouse) will regret it. |
And it will cost them a darn sight more than a hundred notes to sort out the mess when you have gone.
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Rob R
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And what about if you don't have a spouse to grieve for you? It's never seemed worth bothering...
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Bebo
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| Rob R wrote: | | And what about if you don't have a spouse to grieve for you? It's never seemed worth bothering... |
But you wouldn't want just anyone inheriting your meat would you?
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Rob R
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Won't be a lot of use to me where I'm going 
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Bebo
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| Rob R wrote: | | Won't be a lot of use to me where I'm going |
Dunno, lots of bbq opportunities I expect 
Anyway, I'm sure you wouldn't want just anyone getting their hands on your meat.
On a more serious note, it depends on your circumstances. Who would you want to take on your livestock? Also grieving parents and / or siblings can easily stand in for grieving spouse in the statement I made earlier.
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Rob R
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The same people who would get them anyway, although they'd probably be liquidated anyway
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Mary-Jane
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You could leave your meat to Downsizer.
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Rob R
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It'd be gone before I was cold.
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Dr Rob
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For goodness sake - what's this thread all about?! Up to the time I left private practice a few years ago I charged £30/£40 each for 2 simple mirror wills (bit more with trusts in) and kept them in the strongroom without charge.
DON'T appoint your bank as executor: their charges for acting in that capacity are astronomical. And they charge for storing wills.
Look at the flow chart above to appreciate the consequences of not making a will (if you have children) - the surviving spouse gets only the first £125,000 of the estate (most houses are worth rather more than that these days) and a life interest in half the remainder. And even if you haven't got children, without a will your parents or siblings or remoter relatives could get a cut. You may not want that. And even more serious, if you're not married and don't make a will your partner of however many years has NO entitlement and will have to apply to the court (if no agreement can be reached over variation) for a share.
GO AND SEE A SOLICITOR!
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Ian33568
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | Ian33568 wrote: | | Downsizers Abroad : Check the status of any British Will in your country of residence. It is so much easier if you have a will that is drawn up in the country of any assets you may have and your English will may not cover assets or taxes abroad or at the very least complicate matters. |
Wills made in the UK will not cover other jurisdictions, thus those of you with assets abroad will have to make separate wills in those jurisdictions. Do take legal advice from lawyers in those jurisdictions because intestacy law varies from country to country. |
Thanks for clarifying that one....you'd be surprised how many Brits abroad think their UK will are valid. We edged on the side of caution and now have wills here and the UK.
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Frewen Feltmaker
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We just got a deal through from our solicitor - mirror wills £80!
times must be hard 
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Rob R
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Q: | Dr Rob wrote: | | For goodness sake - what's this thread all about?! |
A: Reminding people to: | Dr Rob wrote: | | GO AND SEE A SOLICITOR! |
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Mary-Jane
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| Rob R wrote: | Q: | Dr Rob wrote: | | For goodness sake - what's this thread all about?! |
A: Reminding people to: | Dr Rob wrote: | | GO AND SEE A SOLICITOR! |
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A brace of Robs.
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Rob R
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Available from any good game dealer
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gil
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My thought (for me) is what's the point.
OK, I don't want to swell the Crown's coffers, but if I wanted to leave my 'estate' split between friends, I guess each time one of them died before I did, I'd have to change my will. As it is, I think some of my pension is still made over to a friend of mine who died some years back.
Easier to just leave it to charity.
Is it as much hassle as I think it is leaving it split between friends ?
If three to start with and one dies, is it split between the other two ?
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Bebo
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| gil wrote: | My thought (for me) is what's the point.
OK, I don't want to swell the Crown's coffers, but if I wanted to leave my 'estate' split between friends, I guess each time one of them died before I did, I'd have to change my will. As it is, I think some of my pension is still made over to a friend of mine who died some years back.
Easier to just leave it to charity.
Is it as much hassle as I think it is leaving it split between friends ?
If three to start with and one dies, is it split between the other two ? |
I'm not an expert (you need MJ or Dr Rob) but I'm pretty sure you can you can write in clauses of what to do if one (or more) of the people that you want to leave things to predeceases you so taht you don't have to constantly change it. However, circumstances do change so when you do get a will done you should accept the fact that you may have to change it in the future.
You never know if you are going to enter or leave a long term relationship, have a child (although if you're careful you should know ), fall out with someone, suddenly realise that you want all of your wordly goods to fund the Monster Raving Loony party / Scientologists / Flying Yogi / 'insert bizarre religion, political persuasion, hobby of your choice'.
If you really don't give a flying fig what happens to your worldly chattels when you peg it don't bother with a will. But if you have any family or friends that you would like to see benefit or conversely if you have any family that you specifically don't want to benefit, you should definitely get one. If you are married, in a long term relationship, have children or own property jointly with someone not having a will is downright irresponsible.
This is the end of the Bebo-vision Public Service Message (as funded by the Law Society)
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lottie
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You must be able to make a will without having to constantly remake it when people die.My brother inherited a very large sum of money this summer from a will he knew nothing about---the person who died was 95 and had originally mentioned alot of people in her will who had all predeceased her---my brother being years younger[57] was the only survivor and came in for everything---don't know how it was worded but that's what happened.
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wellington womble
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Perhaps you could do it as a percentage? So 5% to A, 12% to B and so on, so that anyone who pre-deceased you's share would go back into the pot?
Or leave it all to Downsizer?
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mochyn
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| wellington womble wrote: | | Perhaps you could do it as a percentage? So 5% to A, 12% to B and so on, so that anyone who pre-deceased you's share would go back into the pot?... |
Anyone else thinking "tontine" here?
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alice
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| mochyn wrote: | | wellington womble wrote: | | Perhaps you could do it as a percentage? So 5% to A, 12% to B and so on, so that anyone who pre-deceased you's share would go back into the pot?... |
Anyone else thinking "tontine" here? |
Only those of us with a penchant for victorian/edwardian novelists
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sean
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Or The Simpsons.
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judith
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Or those who have visited Ironbridge.
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mochyn
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| alice wrote: | | mochyn wrote: | | wellington womble wrote: | | Perhaps you could do it as a percentage? So 5% to A, 12% to B and so on, so that anyone who pre-deceased you's share would go back into the pot?... |
Anyone else thinking "tontine" here? |
Only those of us with a penchant for victorian/edwardian novelists |
Yep: that would be me.
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mochyn
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| judith wrote: | | Or those who have visited Ironbridge. |
Ooh yeah: not a bad pub,
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lottie
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Will forms £3.99 on the aisle end in Morrisons today 
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