Making a will - guardians for children

Dear_Prudence

Hi all,

Sorry if this is a stupid question/in the wrong place

Me and DH need to make a will, we need to do this anyway but particularly as I am now pregnant so will have a little one in a few months time (if all goes okay).

One of the reasons to make a will is to sort out who would be our child(ren)'s agreed Guardians if we were both to suddenly die.

What I want to know is, can you put this on the will before your child is born? Or do we have to wait until after we actually have a child? Then would we have to pay two sets of fees if we had to do one will now, and one after the birth...?

Also any general advice on will-making would be much appreciated as I know nothing about it...

Thanks all,

DP

MrsAnnie

You would need to check with a solicitor.

Maybe the wording would say something like 'any biological children of the marriage'. For inheirtance purposes my will names my children and any 'natural children born to me' which covers all children I have if I die. HTH

wise_fool

Dear_Prudence wrote: »

Hi all,

Sorry if this is a stupid question/in the wrong place

Me and DH need to make a will, we need to do this anyway but particularly as I am now pregnant so will have a little one in a few months time (if all goes okay).

One of the reasons to make a will is to sort out who would be our child(ren)'s agreed Guardians if we were both to suddenly die.

What I want to know is, can you put this on the will before your child is born? Or do we have to wait until after we actually have a child? Then would we have to pay two sets of fees if we had to do one will now, and one after the birth...?

Also any general advice on will-making would be much appreciated as I know nothing about it...

Thanks all,

DP

The answer is yes you can make a will now that deals with any future circumstances.

As well as appointing guardians to look after any children that have not reached 18, your will should also state at what age your children (if any) inherit. It cannot be before 18 but you may decide upon a later age.

Also who would be the trustees (ie those responsible for looking after their inheritance) should you and your husband die before your children are old enough to inherit.

Also who your beneficiaries will be if you are not survived by any children - ie you die before having any children or you all die in a 'catastrophe' scenario.

Search out a STEP qualified solicitor or a professional willwriter who belongs to the IPW as they are trained and qualified.

Dear_Prudence

Thanks both!