Writing your own will

honeyD

Errata wrote: »

Are Freeman Johnson the executors ? If so, the will directs them to sell off everything and with the proceeds pay the funeral expenses and then the beneficiaries.

Im not really sure if they are, I would think so. That is what she doesnt want to happen. She wants the items to go to a member of the family and not be sold off. I think she may have enough insurances to cover the costs but then Im not really sure of that either lol so will have to check with her tomorrow and update.

morag1202

My DH made a will on a PO form in 1982 and I had no problem with probate when he died in 2000 (I was executor)

HOWEVER he did not set up a Trust. If your Gran has a Trust in place - it sounds as if she does, then any change to the will is probably best done by a solicitor.

If the solicitor is her executor then he will charge for his services (out of the estate) and the more complecated the estate, the higher the charges. If the solicitor also administers the Trust, he will charge for that too.

Perhaps it would be a good idea for her to ask the solicitor exactly what is meant by the clause that is bothering her, then ammend it if she is still unhappy?

Biggles

I'm not sure about there being a trust. The wording we can see seems to be fairly standard, executors being referred to as 'holding the funds in trust' and 'as trustees' until the money is disbursed.

However, if there is a trust, and if you are going to talk to the solicitor, you may ask why there is one. Unless it is essential it would be another extra expense.

RAS

Unless granny has a small fortune, then she needs to appoint a family member or friend (or two) as executor(s), not a company. She also need to avoid setting up any trusts which are managed by solicitors. So the sooner she gets a new will written the better. One elderly lady in my family had appointed a solictor as executor and he charged £4,000 to adminster an estate worth £8,000.

Rather than relying on a post office will, it might be worth spending £60 getting a specialist will writer to ensure it is fully legal.

However, you could help by talking through what granny wants and writing that down, as long as she does not want to make any gifts to you in the will.

Jake'sGran

simpywimpy wrote: »

As long as her affairs aren't over complicated then a self made will should be fine. It will need to be witnessed by someone not getting anything from the will itself.

I agree with this and did my own will a few years ago with a form I printed off from a companyon the Internet. It was simple and straightforward and two people I know witnessed it. Enter Will Forms in Google and see what you get.

I now have a will drawn up by a solicitor as I was worrying about Inheritance Tax and didn't want my daughter to have too much to sort out. My husband did the same as his affairs are separate to mine. The wills cost about £140 each. There are some well known stories about wills like the one on a scrap of paper that said "all to wife" which was perfectly OK. Must have been properly signed and witnessed and it was a long long time ago. Shortly after I did mine the IT was increased.

honeyD

Thanks everyone.
She is coming to see me later this week and bringing her will and things so I will take a look and speak to her about what she should do. It seems like it would be best for her to see another solicitor rather than have me do it. I dont know what Im doing anyway lol.

sagalout1954

I imagine there are many executors out there who had to deal with badly written wills and the resulting mess, delay and upset they can inflict on the beneficiaries, with costs depleting the inheritance by the minute if solicitors have to become involved in sorting out legal complexities.

Be sure you understand EXACTLY what you need to do before happily assuming your DiY end result will be adequate and legal, otherwise it will be a false economy.

Seems to me, from the bit of the will you have quoted, that your first step would be to find out who the executors are seeing as it appears that they have the power to postpone the sale of Grans goods and chattels for as long as they think fit (assuming funeral costs and any other debts are covered).

Could be postponed permanently if the executor/s are also the beneficiaries of the will and they decide they want to keep her things instead of flogging them all and converting it into hard cash.

Is it just me (and am I talking out of my backside) or does the last line of HoneyD's quote from Grannies will imply that her surviving son/s ARE executors and beneficiaries of her will?

grannyjo

http://www.howtobooks.co.uk/family/wills/writing.asp

Read the info on this web site. They have sample wills on the site. If your gran can keep everything simple, it is easy to write a will. Soldiers have to do them before they go on active service, and the war office, doesn't pay £120 or so for each soldier. When my father died, and I had to be executor, I had to take the will to the probate office. The staff there are very helpful. My sister who used to be a legal secretary was worried, that parts weren't legal. (It was drawn up my a local solicitor)
All the probate officers were really interested in was if two people had witnessed the signing, and that they did not inherit anything. (They can be reimbursed for expenses.)
I have used will forms from the stationers. They are simple and easy to do.
As said previously, all solicitors love being executors. They can charge very high fees. My sisters boss used to be most annoyed, if they could not convince a family to make them the executor. Good luck jo

grannyjo

Sorry the site I told you does have a format, but the one I was thinking of had about 6 sample wills. It was from the plain english society. I have emailed them to see if they still do one. It was excellent.- jo

moonrakerz

It never ceases to amaze me on a money saving site that people are happy to "save" a couple of hundred quid on getting a Will written properly with a good chance that this home made effort will cost thousands to be sorted out when they die.

Still, it's your money !