What to do when a partner/spouse dies.

pegginout

My husband and I made a will.

Work Unions often contribute towards the cost of making wills.

My half was paid for ( very kindly) by my fathers union. He died suddenly at work and the solicitor who helped us with the inquest/h&s prosecution/civil prosecution sorted it out. We just had to pay for my husbands half, but his union paid for it so FREE!

My mother had an awful time with probate etc, as if death wasnt difficult enough. So we decided to make one after his death.

belfastgirl23

I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for all of the invaluable advice here - you have all helped to make a difficult job seem manageable! And may well have helped to secure the future for a vulnerable teenager.

I am also going off to draw up my own will and instructions ASAP!

slim_bird

When my Mum passed away we were unindated with complicated forms. I went to the Benefits office and they organised my Dad to have a 'Bereavment Visit'. They went through all of his financial commitments etc and completed the appropriate forms.

A few weeks later my Dad received a call from the DPW and was informed that since my Mum had retired they had been underpaying her pension. Following week he received a cheque for £12000!!!!!!. Bitter sweet blow to say the least.How she would have loved to blow that!!!

Had a good chat with my Dad about his revised financial position and so for Chrimbo i bought him a Will ( used the free will making scheme advertised on here amd donated £70.00 to charity). Has given everyone peace of mind and i know no one likes to face these things but i can't recommend it enough and once it's done it can be forgotten.

Hope this prompts someone out there to double check their pensions. :A

Socrates_3

It is too late when a spouse dies - the question should be 'what to do BEFORE a spouse dies'. My husband died at 43 yrs, leaving me with two young children - one day he was fit and healthy - the next day he was dead. His life insurance was voided because he lied on the form and his will was homemade which created immense and expensive problems with probate. I cannot emphasise too much the absolute necessity of ensuring that life insurance will definitely pay out and to have a will that is professionally drawn up. If you are married with children and you do not have such things in place, then take the day off work tomorrow and sort it out immediately. Not to do so is to utterly fail in your most basic responsibilities to your family. The tormenting horror of bereavement is beyond unspeakable - your surviving husband/wife will suffer cruelly for many months, in addition to having to cope with the anguish of your children. It is likely they will be abandoned by all but the bravest of family and friends, and work will be very difficult to hold down. Therefore they will need every penny you can leave them. There are not many things a person can do to really make a difference to ease suffering, but this is one of them.

Socrates_3

P.S.

The other thing you should do is get married - only married people are entitled to bereavement payment and widowed parent allowance. Also check the ownership of your house. All this must be sorted out - there is no mercy shown by any of the official organisations. The survivors are the least important part of a wicked process that bureaucratises death and misrecognises the dreadful impact of bereavement (generally by confusing it with divorce, in the case of young widowhood).

jobbingmusician

Television Licence.

This is a real MSE thing - not a big money spinner, but something I think should be done in principle and is likely to refund a little money to the estate.

Most TV licences paid by direct debit are 6 months in advance. If you contact the TV licensing company http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/index.jsp you should get a refund of 6 months' contributions if the licence is no longer needed.

This is obviously unlikely to be relevant to people losing a spouse, but could be helpful to people on a low income losing a parent or other close family member - or to anyone who believes, as I do, that the licensing company should not benefit from these overpayments!

Mary_Hartnell

Socrates wrote: »

His will was home made which created immense and expensive problems with probate. .

Hi Socrates,
What did he do wrong?
Mary.

I am waiting for the outcome of a late uncle's will - it seems there is something not quite right with that will too.

jenlui

Hi Everyone

I have been named as the executor of my aunties estate. I have never done anything like this before and am struggling to decipher some of the provisions. I am trying to administer the will myself rather than pay for a solicitor so any help is greatly appreciated.

I think I have done quite well so far in figuring things out but this provision below has stumped me and I have had conflicting advice
from friends and family

My executor shall hold the residue of my estate on trust either to retain or sell it on the following trusts:-[FONT=&quot]To pay all debts funeral and testamentary expenses,[/FONT][FONT=&quot]To pay the residue to the registered charity OXFAM absolutely[/FONT]


I am aware of what the residue is - everything that is left over after everything has been paid and I can establish what amount this is but what to do with it now is confusing me . I have been told that this means I just pay the funeral expenses etc from this amount then give the rest to Oxfam but I have also been told somewhat worryingly this means that I am now a trustee of this money/goods and that I do not pass it to oxfam but invest it and pay any profits/dividends etc from this to Oxfam, is this true


Can anyone say for sure what this means?

belfastgirl23

jenlui wrote: »

Hi Everyone

I have been named as the executor of my aunties estate. I have never done anything like this before and am struggling to decipher some of the provisions. I am trying to administer the will myself rather than pay for a solicitor so any help is greatly appreciated.

I think I have done quite well so far in figuring things out but this provision below has stumped me and I have had conflicting advice
from friends and family

My executor shall hold the residue of my estate on trust either to retain or sell it on the following trusts:-[FONT=&quot]To pay all debts funeral and testamentary expenses,[/FONT][FONT=&quot]To pay the residue to the registered charity OXFAM absolutely[/FONT]


I am aware of what the residue is - everything that is left over after everything has been paid and I can establish what amount this is but what to do with it now is confusing me . I have been told that this means I just pay the funeral expenses etc from this amount then give the rest to Oxfam but I have also been told somewhat worryingly this means that I am now a trustee of this money/goods and that I do not pass it to oxfam but invest it and pay any profits/dividends etc from this to Oxfam, is this true


Can anyone say for sure what this means?

I really admire you for your determination to do this yourself but I would say it wouldn't be too costly to go to a solicitor for advice, even if you don't ask them to do probate etc. Don't put yourself through the stress of handling it on your own...

Pee

I think you should go to a Solicitor.

The alternative is that yes, you can hand the residue over to Oxfam and seek advise from them if there are any CGT issues you should take into account - probably not in the current climate - and you should definately do Trustee Notices, to protect yourself as Executor. Charities make very demanding beneficiaries so do keep them informed and take their views into account. They will have a specialist legacy department who may be able to help.