Free and Cheap Wills discussion area

Errata

trishiem68 wrote: »

I have rang a solicitors recently and explained about mom but they said that I need a letter confirming that she has capacity but then when you speak to mom's consultant they said that the solicitor usually have to form their own opinion and do their own test but I don't know whose right

A consultant's opinion is something of a snapshot, it can only be an opinion of how someone is at the point the opinion is given. The day after it's given the person may have far less capacity, and even less the following week when they attempt to instruct a solicitor.
I'm not sure what is meant by a test a solicitor will do. They aren't medically qualified, so their opinion of someone's capacity would be hard for them to defend in any meaningful way and it's not worth the hassle for them for a fee of a couple of hundred pounds.

BASBAL

Mojisola wrote: »

There's something wrong here. The laws of intestacy allow only blood relations to inherit. How could the estate go out of the family?

Nope sadly nothing wrong. The estate went to my parent's second spouse who willed it to their only issue. This person has now died, intestate, and the estate will probably go to a distant relative of that person's abusive father! All quite legal and ruled on by the Judge. So the blood relation wlil inherit! It all happened in another country too. So very unfair but perfectly legal.

John_Pierpoint

Ah well it could have all been left to the cats' home in a perfectly legal will too.

Never a good idea to rely on an inheritance - it can really mess up your life.

BASBAL

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Ah well it could have all been left to the cats' home in a perfectly legal will too.

Never a good idea to rely on an inheritance - it can really mess up your life.

I find that remark quite upsetting. You don't know the circumstances of it all.
I didn't rely on an inheritance especially as this parent did nothing for me while alive so why should they do anything for me when dead?

Mojisola

BAS/BAL wrote: »

Please, please everyone make a will. One of my parents didn't and as a result (too complicated to go in to here) all of the family estate, worth over 7 figures has gone out of the family. Nothing we can do cos it is the law of intestacy. So do it. I would hate others to go through the grief and angst that I have had to suffer.

BAS/BAL wrote: »

Nope sadly nothing wrong. The estate went to my parent's second spouse who willed it to their only issue. This person has now died, intestate, and the estate will probably go to a distant relative of that person's abusive father! All quite legal and ruled on by the Judge. So the blood relation wlil inherit! It all happened in another country too. So very unfair but perfectly legal.

So it was a step-parent, not your blood relation.

The inheritance has stayed within the blood family.

John_Pierpoint

BAS/BAL wrote: »

Please, please everyone make a will. One of my parents didn't and as a result (too complicated to go in to here) all of the family estate, worth over 7 figures has gone out of the family. Nothing we can do cos it is the law of intestacy. So do it. I would hate others to go through the grief and angst that I have had to suffer.

BAS/BAL wrote: »

Nope sadly nothing wrong. The estate went to my parent's second spouse who willed it to their only issue. This person has now died, intestate, and the estate will probably go to a distant relative of that person's abusive father! All quite legal and ruled on by the Judge. So the blood relation wlil inherit! It all happened in another country too. So very unfair but perfectly legal.

BAS/BAL wrote: »

I find that remark quite upsetting. You don't know the circumstances of it all.
I didn't rely on an inheritance especially as this parent did nothing for me while alive so why should they do anything for me when dead?

I apologise for upsetting you. My observation was not aimed at you personally; I just meant it to be a general observation about the lottery of life.
I could tell a story about how the expectation of an inheritance was one of the worst things that could have happened to someone I know; even though he eventually, at the age of 50. did inherit something of a poisoned chalice.

I won't try to pry into your personal circumstances. So let us just leave things as generalities.

A lot depends on chance, for example the order in which people happen to die and the size of their families.

However the legal structure and customs of the people can have an effect too.
One of the driving forces behind [STRIKE]Britain's[/STRIKE] England's industrial and empire expansion, was a law and taxation system that encouraged families to look after their own, coupled with a custom of preserving the capital by leaving it to the eldest son. This produced an "army" of younger sons who were educated but who knew they were going to have to make their own way in the world.
[It also produced Jane Austen to comment on the plight of the daughters of the poor relation]

Personally I think society has now swung too far the other way in its legislation and attempts to be "fair" and the reliance on a cradle to grave "welfare state" is beginning to look like an unaffordable luxury in a selfish nation.

Mojisola

BAS/BAL wrote: »

Nope sadly nothing wrong. The estate went to my parent's second spouse who willed it to their only issue. This person has now died, intestate, and the estate will probably go to a distant relative of that person's abusive father! All quite legal and ruled on by the Judge. So the blood relation wlil inherit! It all happened in another country too. So very unfair but perfectly legal.

The problem here wasn't the intestacy rules but the fact that two wills left everything to one other person with no provision for the rest of the family. In cases of step-families, it's really important that all eventualities are covered.

If your genetic parent had wanted it, your step-parent could have been given life-time use of the inheritance which would then be shared between all the children after the second death.

BASBAL

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

I apologise for upsetting you. My observation was not aimed at you personally; I just meant it to be a general observation about the lottery of life.
I could tell a story about how the expectation of an inheritance was one of the worst things that could have happened to someone I know; even though he eventually, at the age of 50. did inherit something of a poisoned chalice.

I won't try to pry into your personal circumstances. So let us just leave things as generalities.

A lot depends on chance, for example the order in which people happen to die and the size of their families.

However the legal structure and customs of the people can have an effect too.
One of the driving forces behind [STRIKE]Britain's[/STRIKE] England's industrial and empire expansion, was a law and taxation system that encouraged families to look after their own, coupled with a custom of preserving the capital by leaving it to the eldest son. This produced an "army" of younger sons who were educated but who knew they were going to have to make their own way in the world.
[It also produced Jane Austen to comment on the plight of the daughters of the poor relation]

Personally I think society has now swung too far the other way in its legislation and attempts to be "fair" and the reliance on a cradle to grave "welfare state" is beginning to look like an unaffordable luxury in a selfish nation.

Thank you for that Pierpoint, I appreciate it. The irony is that if my step sibling HAD left a legal will (told you it was very complicated, that bit is still being fought over - but not by me as I'm a non-contender!) then they probably would have left at least part of it to a cat charity!!

BASBAL

Mojisola wrote: »

The problem here wasn't the intestacy rules but the fact that two wills left everything to one other person with no provision for the rest of the family. In cases of step-families, it's really important that all eventualities are covered.

If your genetic parent had wanted it, your step-parent could have been given life-time use of the inheritance which would then be shared between all the children after the second death.

I never said there was anything wrong with the intestacy laws. they are there to protect us and by and large they do. In this case although the estate has probably stayed in the bloodline, morally it probably should have stayed with the children of those who built it up!! The whole estate (worth over £2.5 million) will probably go to a blood relative in yet another country that not even my step sibling knew existed. This step sibling has/had step children and like me they too have lost out on inheriting what their parent put together. In both cases our deceased parents either failed to make a will (died before the will was finalised, again too complicated to go into here) or did not have their will written so that their wishes were carried through by the remaining partner (the step parent).

What I hoped to do was encourage those who had not made out a will to do so. We may think it will all work out ok in the end but the grief, literally, that this has caused has been enormous. So if you and your loved ones don't want your and their life turned upside down (and I'm not just talking about the money here) then make sure that you and those around you make a will!!

ps One lawyer reckons there's a book and film rights in my story, any takers? ;-)

John_Pierpoint

Try this film maker - she has already achieved some acclaim with a film exploring personal relationships with the way we live now.
It has played to some sell out audiences - but would you have the nerve to appear as yourself?;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_of_a_Life