do i have to make a new will?

Pee

It could be appropriate to appoint someone of 19 or even 18 to be an executor. It is even possible to appoint someone younger i.e. if you had three children aged 21, 19 and 16 and wanted to split the estate between them. The youngest one couldn't act until they were 18, but hopefully you wouldn't die before then. If you did, there would be two valid appointments.

On the other hand where there is disharmony between the potential beneficiaries as here, where the future husband and 19 year old do not get on, it is inappropriate.

Savvy_Sue

patchwork_cat wrote: »

I don't agree at all. No it is not perfect to have a 19 year old as executor, but it may be they are the best choice.

Especially if you're not anticipating dying any time soon - I know none of us can predict the future, but if you knew you didn't have long, then appointing a 19 yo would be hard, IMO.

Pee wrote: »

On the other hand where there is disharmony between the potential beneficiaries as here, where the future husband and 19 year old do not get on, it is inappropriate.

Right, get where you are coming from now. In this situation a professional might well be the best bet - but remember, it doesn't have to be the solicitor.

We currently have an accountant as one of our executors, and the other is dead but used to work for what is now the Office of the Public Guardian. So a good steady head on both, and likely to be cheaper than a solicitor.

dithedancer

thanks for all replies. ive priced up a new will with the same solicitor and it will be £60 to rewrite my existing will, i haven't decided yet who to make my executor, but i will ask around. another question is when my husband took ill we were advised to have a joint account so as i had access to his savings when he died while probate was been passed, would this be a good idea to do with my son. i know it seems morbid asking these questions but im now in my 50s and all the females in my family seem to die before they reach 60 and i want to make sure everything is in place just in case.

Annisele

If you have a joint account with your son, then the two of you will be financially linked. In essence, that means that if either of you manage to trash your credit rating then it'll affect both of you.

A joint account would also mean that on your death (or your son's, if he predeceases you) then all the money in that account would go to the surviving person, regardless of what the will says. And it means that your son would have access to the money *before* you died, which might not be what you want.

I don't think that adding your son is a good idea, but then I don't know him! Banks are usually happy to release funds for funeral expenses anyway, so it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Savvy_Sue

There are several reasons against setting up a joint account with your son. A joint account is presumed to belong equally to both parties, and there's nothing to stop him raiding it before you're dead. It also passes to him on your death without being part of the estate: that may not matter if all it covers is the funeral expenses, but your other son may feel aggrieved if there's more than enough and your eldest doesn't share it.

However, there's another batch of reasons unrelated to your death: if your son has to claim means-tested benefits, this is seen as half his money. If he goes through a messy divorce, ditto.

There are ways round this: you can set up an account with him as a named signatory without it being a joint account. You can buy a pre-paid funeral plan, and in your situation that might be quite useful, see below.

But it's actually not necessary to do any of that, because banks etc will pay funeral bills etc on presentation of an invoice, before probate is granted.

However, there's some interesting family dynamics going on here: you seem to be assuming that your son will make all arrangements and need to spend out money, but if you've re-married, wouldn't that more naturally fall to your new husband?

That's why if not a pre-paid funeral plan then at least making YOUR wishes very clear could be quite helpful. While that might not be in your will, your solicitor may help you draft a 'letter of wishes' to go alongside it.

cross-posted with Annisele, but we seem to be in broad agreement!