Making a Will

monkey_spank

Joolzs wrote:

It's a very simple equation - so many hours a day, so much work, something drops to the bottom - conveyancing important, probate unimportant

Oh that's ok then. That's reassuring to those who wait months and months with no word of communication how their unimportant probate case that's costing thousands of pounds is progressing.

Joolzs wrote:

If a solicitor does completely screw up a Will then their firm's insurance will cover the claim

True, but not before the solicitor tries their hardest to cover their backsides. In most cases they will try to reach a full and final settlement with the aggrieved party and then quietly carrying on practising.

You seem to be saying there are only two choices for making a Will, DIY or a solicitor - whereas a professional Willwriter such as one from the Institute of Professional Willwriters that Mr Micawber mentions in post #3 (ie a properly qualified, regulated and insured one) provides a viable option does it not?

bashful

Really helpful thread - thanks to all the contributors!

My wife and I are in our second marriage and have two adult children each from our first marriages. Taking a simple view, our wills would be as someone else said "each to each other and then to offspring".

For whatever reason, over the years we have both got a number of personal savings, bank and credit card accounts. To facilitate tidying up in the event of one of us dying, should we make all of the accounts "joint" accounts or is that unnecessary? I find it difficult enough to access my own accounts sometimes so wouldn't like Mrs Bashful to have difficulties.

dzug1

bashful wrote: »

Taking a simple view, our wills would be as someone else said "each to each other and then to offspring".

That is actually NOT a simple will. It implies that you are setting up a trust whereby the surviving spouse has no access to any capital from the estate of the deceased - only to the interest on it. If that's what you mean, OK, but I suspect it may not be.

If you leave property/money to your spouse you cannot dictate what they should do with it either in their lifetime or on their death. If you leave it to a trust, you can.

CLAPTON

bashful wrote: »

Really helpful thread - thanks to all the contributors!

My wife and I are in our second marriage and have two adult children each from our first marriages. Taking a simple view, our wills would be as someone else said "each to each other and then to offspring".

For whatever reason, over the years we have both got a number of personal savings, bank and credit card accounts. To facilitate tidying up in the event of one of us dying, should we make all of the accounts "joint" accounts or is that unnecessary? I find it difficult enough to access my own accounts sometimes so wouldn't like Mrs Bashful to have difficulties.

I would very much agree with dzug that this is not a simple will.

Whatever does it mean.. each to the other then the offspring'... say the 'other' remarries or falls out with the other offspring or as dzug suggests, are you making a trust?

sloughflint

bashful wrote: »

To facilitate tidying up in the event of one of us dying, should we make all of the accounts "joint" accounts or is that unnecessary? I find it difficult enough to access my own accounts sometimes so wouldn't like Mrs Bashful to have difficulties.

Making accounts joint mean that the contents automatically become the property of the survivng account holder regardless of a Will.

I see a similar problem like for artha though if all money is kept joint:
No guarantee of the "then to offspring" in the case of remarriage after the death of the first spouse.

meech_2

My wife is a Solicitor and now works from home doing wills. You are sadly correct regarding the conveyancing being on top of the pile, as it is sonething she has had experience of.

The thing with Solicitor's Practices is that wills are not that lucritive so they often price you out (i.e. the £400 quote).

My wife only charges around the £100 mark as her overheads are low and she can work at her own pace from home.

With regards to bank accounts, this is not a problem with a properly constructed and legally executed will - but that is where the trick lies!

Try the law society and get loads of quotes, there must a solicitor that wants the work near you - alternatively try the IPW, but in the end the wills are only as good as the person who writes it.

Definitely stay away from DIY wills, as what you think may be unimportant could be a major flaw in legal terms of the validity of the will.

McKneff

help the age is an option

margaretclare

Originally Posted by bashful
Taking a simple view, our wills would be as someone else said "each to each other and then to offspring".

dzug1 wrote: »

That is actually NOT a simple will. It implies that you are setting up a trust whereby the surviving spouse has no access to any capital from the estate of the deceased - only to the interest on it. If that's what you mean, OK, but I suspect it may not be.

I don't see this.

We are in a similar position, both in second marriages with offspring and descendants from the first. We have made 'mirror wills' leaving everything to each other. When the second one pops his/her clogs, whatever (if anything) is left is meant to be divided equally among 5 grandchildren, 3 of mine and 2 of his. We had no intention of setting up any kind of a trust. Nor is there any plan that anyone should have an 'inheritance' - if there's something left they'll get it. If there isn't i.e. if we need it while alive, that's the luck of the draw.

If you leave property/money to your spouse you cannot dictate what they should do with it either in their lifetime or on their death. If you leave it to a trust, you can.

I agree - whichever spouse survives will do whatever they think is necessary, whatever they need.

sloughflint

margaretclare wrote: »

if there's something left they'll get it.

Can that be said with absolute certainty with your type of set-up?

Hypothetical situation:
Spouse 1 dies. All passes to spouse 2.

Spouse 2 remarries so old Will null and void. Before spouse 2 and new spouse get a chance to get wills organised, spouse 2 dies closely followed by new spouse.
Intestacy rules apply......

There is a chance that all could pass to a completely different family depending on sums involved.

tanith

sloughflint wrote: »

Can that be said with absolute certainty with your type of set-up?

Hypothetical situation:
Spouse 1 dies. All passes to spouse 2.

Spouse 2 remarries so old Will null and void. Before spouse 2 and new spouse get a chance to get wills organised, spouse 2 dies closely followed by new spouse.
Intestacy rules apply......

There is a chance that all could pass to a completely different family depending on sums involved.

This hypothetical example is exactly what could happen in my case, so any inheritance could completely bypass my children and go to OH's siblings as he has no children... so if I explained this to a solicitor they would advise me how to avoid that happening?