Making new wills

margeproops

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

I began to think about our wills after my mum developed Alzheimers and is now in a nursing home. My father had done nothing about their finances and now cannot access any of Mum's savings without applying for Power of Attorney (he's still very shocked about how she deteriorated and she hasn't much so he thinks it's not worth doing).

I began to research the idea of a Discretionary Trust Will because of the benefit of the NHS not being able to take the house if anything happened to either of us. Our house is worth about £250,000 and we don't have a lot of savings so we would fit into the nil band. We were thinking of using our children as executors and trustees if we are able to.

margaretclare

margeproops wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

I began to think about our wills after my mum developed Alzheimers and is now in a nursing home. My father had done nothing about their finances and now cannot access any of Mum's savings without applying for Power of Attorney (he's still very shocked about how she deteriorated and she hasn't much so he thinks it's not worth doing).

I began to research the idea of a Discretionary Trust Will because of the benefit of the NHS not being able to take the house if anything happened to either of us. Our house is worth about £250,000 and we don't have a lot of savings so we would fit into the nil band. We were thinking of using our children as executors and trustees if we are able to.

The NHS does not take anyone's house. What would they do with it if they did? 'If anything happened to either of you'...what kind of 'anything' have you in mind? One thing you can be sure of is that things do 'happen'. Things change. Opinions change, people change, circumstances change. No one can be sure what is round the next corner.

You say your wills are out of date. Everyone should review their wills every few years, because things do change and what applied 5 years ago may not apply now.

Savvy_Sue

margeproops wrote: »

I began to think about our wills after my mum developed Alzheimers and is now in a nursing home. My father had done nothing about their finances and now cannot access any of Mum's savings without applying for Power of Attorney (he's still very shocked about how she deteriorated and she hasn't much so he thinks it's not worth doing).

Then it is not just wills you need to think about, but also Power of Attorney (it's cheaper to write them now than wait until you have lost 'capacity', as your father is finding). However, you do not NEED to involve a solicitor in drawing up a PofA, or registering one, althoug the 'new' kind are more complex than the old kind.

If the £700 quote was for two wills plus two PsofA, then that may be about what you'd expect.

And your father might also wish to get a PofA drawn up: if anything happens to him (before he dies ...) then it will be very much easier and cheaper to pick up the financial pieces of his affairs (never mind Mum's) if he does a PofA now.

I would look on the AgeUK site for information and a starting point.

margeproops wrote: »

I began to research the idea of a Discretionary Trust Will because of the benefit of the NHS not being able to take the house if anything happened to either of us. Our house is worth about £250,000 and we don't have a lot of savings so we would fit into the nil band. We were thinking of using our children as executors and trustees if we are able to.

It is as margaretclare says, but if what you're saying is that you want to protect your current house and / or its value to pass on to your children, leaving your local authority to pick up the bill for any residential care you / your husband might require, then please, think again. For many reasons: firstly because far fewer people need residential care than most of us think; secondly because if your needs are sufficiently complex then the bill ought to be picked up by the NHS (but see other threads on continuing health care for how difficult that can be to get sorted!); but mostly because if you're prepared to use the house / its value in the equation for the funding of residential care, then you will have a great deal more choice than if you're dependant on the local authority picking up the bill.

Annisele

margeproops wrote: »

I began to research the idea of a Discretionary Trust Will because of the benefit of the NHS not being able to take the house if anything happened to either of us. Our house is worth about £250,000 and we don't have a lot of savings so we would fit into the nil band. We were thinking of using our children as executors and trustees if we are able to.

As margaretclare said, the NHS aren't in the business of taking people's houses. However, even if they were, I don't think a discretionary trust would necessarily help to protect your house.

I'm guessing you mean that you don't want to have to pay for care at any point in future, and you want to give away your house now so that in future you'd be assessed as not being able to afford care. If I'm right, then I don't think a trust will help you.

If a local authority can show that you've given away an asset with the intention of avoiding care fees, then in some circumstances they can unwind the transaction (in other words, they can take the house anyway). One of the questions they ask is "why did this person give away her house"? If there's a good reason for giving away the asset, for example inheritance tax mitigation, then the transaction might be allowed to stand. If the only reason anybody can come up with is so you can avoid care fees, that would look very much like "deprivation of capital" (if you google that term you'll get more information).

margeproops

I did actually mean the Local Authority not the NHS. We only have our property (worth about £250,000) and a small amount of savings and I was hoping to prevent the house being used against care home fees. Mum's is costing £1000 a week but as she was sectioned when her condition became uncontrollable it is all paid for by the Local Authority and the NHS.

I've taken most of my information about the Discretionary Trust Will from the Saga website. I presumed that it would be sensible information and quite an easy process but all your posts have made realise that it's not at all straight forward.

Newly_retired

If one of you needs to go into residential care and the other is still resident in the matrimonial home then the house will not be expected to be sold to cover fees.
In the fairly rare event that the surviving spouse does need to go into a care home, at that point s/he will get a much better place to live out their final days if not dependent on local authority funding.
My mum survived my dad by a few months, which were spent in a lovely care home which she enjoyed. Yes, it cost a bit for those months, but it was worth it.
Of course none of knows what will happen and how long we will live, but as margaretclare says, things do happen. The one certainty is that we will all die, but only a small percentage of us will need residential care.

Newly_retired

As far as your original question is concerned, my solicitor charged about £100 to redo my will. My husband copied the bits that are the same for him, so he paid nothing. Very MSE!