questions about will writing

justme111

As I know next to nothing about wills and related issues -
- who is meant to keep the will . How is that person notified about my death ? Can that person (solicitor presumably ) be one of the executors , is it advisable to appoint an unknown solicitor as an executor and what sort of charges will it attract
- do I have to list all my possessions or is it ok just saying "all my possessions "
- can I ask for part of the estate to be put in trust and released to benefitiary when she is 25? Who will be trustee then - executors ? Or is it much hassle for them and that part of estate will be swallowed in admin charges etc ?
A bit of a background - I am a parent to a child who would inherity estate. A child would be looked after by her dad I assume in the event of my death . We are divorced. So I intended to make a dad one of the executors and just in case so that he does not feel tempted to use the estate for other purposes a solicitor as another executor.
Thank you .

Savvy_Sue

justme111 wrote: »

- who is meant to keep the will . How is that person notified about my death ? Can that person (solicitor presumably ) be one of the executors , is it advisable to appoint an unknown solicitor as an executor and what sort of charges will it attract.

You can keep the will, or you can let the solicitor keep it, or pass it to your executor(s). Whatever you do, don't be secretive about where it is, because the original will be needed.

the sort of charges it will attract will depend on how complex the estate is, how much work the other executor is prepared to do, and what that particular solicitor charges.

As for appointing an unknown solicitor, I wouldn't appoint one at all, but leave the executor(S) to appoint on for any bits of work they needed advice on.

justme111 wrote: »

- do I have to list all my possessions or is it ok just saying "all my possessions "

'all my possessions' is fine. After all, you might throw out your best blue china tomorrow and buy new pink china ...

justme111 wrote: »

- can I ask for part of the estate to be put in trust and released to benefitiary when she is 25? Who will be trustee then - executors ? Or is it much hassle for them and that part of estate will be swallowed in admin charges etc ?

There will be costs relating to a trust which lasts until the child is 25, because there are tax implications for any trust involving someone over 18. The trustees can be the executors, or you can appoint others.

justme111 wrote: »

A bit of a background - I am a parent to a child who would inherity estate. A child would be looked after by her dad I assume in the event of my death . We are divorced. So I intended to make a dad one of the executors and just in case so that he does not feel tempted to use the estate for other purposes a solicitor as another executor.

I'd go and get some advice, or there's a Which guide which covers Trusts.

Appointing a solicitor as a trustee would incur ongoing charges, I believe. Is there no trusted friend or family member who would help out?

How old is the child now, and how large is your estate?

justme111

No family members
Trusted friend - well , not really , its not that I don't trust them , its that everybody is busy and they don't do research they need for themselves even , how would I expect them to deal with a completely alien topic of trusts and wills..

I thought "all my possessions " should be fine but then I realised they would have hard times finding/claiming those unless I kept giving whoever keeps my will an updated list of those.

Child - 9. Estate - a couple of hundreds pounds I guess - house equity , bank accounts , funds , death in service benefit .

Re getting some advice - I do not particularly trust solicitors with their advice , besides its difficult to get an advice on a topic one knows nothing about as one does not know what to ask ...

getmore4less

ONe issue you need to resolve is how the child accesses the assets for their best interest, for example education.

YOu asume the dad but what happens if he is unable then another person may need to take over and if you lock up the assets till the child is 25 they could be living in poverty

There have been plenty of cases, some where a child has "issues" that need funding and there is no way to access the funds.

getmore4less

Might be worth reading up on the options I think the terms you need are

"Bereaved Minor” and “18-25” Trusts

at least enough research to have some idea what you are trying to do and at some point you may need professional help because getting it wrong and not being around to fix it is a probable outcome.

TBagpuss

Your best bet is to see a solicitor. Although you may not know what questions to ask, they will know what sorts of things are likely to be relevent and will ask you questions to clarify what you would want to happen in various different scenarios, and can then advise about how to achieve what you want.

You don't have to cvome up with 'legal' quesutuions. From what you have saud already, it sounds as though the sort of questions you would be asking are "what can I do to make sure my ex can't use the money, rather than keeping it for my daughter?"
"how expensive would it be if I set up a trust?

In terms of your possessions, strictly speaking the executors ar suppsoed to turn eveything into cash, so while you don;t have to list eveything, if there are particular things you would want to be kept and geiven to your daughter you can list those and specify that they go to her. You can also do a letter to keep with your will, and in the letter set out any specific items you would want to be given to her, or others. You can then in the will say "my personal possessions to be distributed in accordance with the letter held with my will" - you can then update the letter as circumstnaces change, but don;t have to make a new will each time.

Becuase you have a child, it is essential that you do get proper advice. Rules relating to trusts for minors are extremely strict and quite rigid - it is usual when writing a will to give the trustees specifc powers so that they have a little bit more flexibility, but it potentially a complex area of law and one which you are very likely to get wrong ig you try to go it alone.

See a solicitor rather than a will writer. Solicitors are one of the most tightly regulated professions in the world. Will writers have no compulsory regualtion at all and anyone can set up as a will writer with no qualifications at all. Solicitors also have tight rules will ensure that documents are not lost if a firm goes out of business.

Most solicitors will stoe your will for free or for a nominal charge, particualrly where they have been names as executors.

If you do not have family members or close riends whom you trust then it would be sensible to consider appointing your solicitors as executors - when your daughter is older, you can update your will and name her as sole executor and beneficiary. Having a solicitor executor would ensure you have peace of mind around ensuring that your ex does not take advantage of your daughter.

If you don't want to name a solicitor as a trustee then you can name a friend but you should check with them that they are happy to be names in this way, ans you can explain to them that they would be entitled to instruct a solicitor to help them with the estate, if necessary.

Ask family and friends for a recommendation for a solicitor. As with evey profession, there are good and bad solicitors, but the majority are trustworthy and will do their best for you. Don;t be afraid to ask questions. The solicitor knows you are not familiar with trusts and wills, it is their job to make sure that you understand what you are doing, and what your options are . Don't be afraid to ask questions if you are not clear. Don';t be afraid to take notes. The solicitor will normally write to you to cofnrim your instructions and to set out in writing what the advice they have given you is, so you will have time to go over it and go back if you have any new questions.

justme111

Thank you folk. Some useful tips and reassurance from you.
I was not going to chuck it all in trust till 25 , originally I was going to leave it all to her dad's discretion precisely for reasons discussed above - they would need money for her schooling , uni etc. But then thought splitting it in half with a half in the trust would be covering more bases.
Let's hope it will kot come to time when that will will be needed ..

Mojisola

justme111 wrote: »

Let's hope it will kot come to time when that will will be needed ..

It's reassuring while they're young to know that you have made plans for their care if you die but it's even better when the youngest makes it to adulthood and you're still here!

stodgy88

not sure if this is in right place, a friend at work as asked f he decides to have a new will drawn up,will he have to tell his partner, who is a beneficary of his current one,but not the new one -(she has seen his current one) will save him a lot of grief . not very clear but hope you get my drift thanks.

Mojisola

stodgy88 wrote: »

not sure if this is in right place, a friend at work as asked f he decides to have a new will drawn up,will he have to tell his partner, who is a beneficary of his current one,but not the new one -(she has seen his current one) will save him a lot of grief . not very clear but hope you get my drift thanks.

No.

It would be especially important to destroy the old signed will in such a situation. It's not unknown for a will to go missing and an older one produced if that one suits someone better.

g6jns_2

stodgy88 wrote: »

not sure if this is in right place, a friend at work as asked f he decides to have a new will drawn up,will he have to tell his partner, who is a beneficary of his current one,but not the new one -(she has seen his current one) will save him a lot of grief . not very clear but hope you get my drift thanks.

Legally he does not have to tell his partner but as Mojisola says it is important to destroy the old will. The fact he is contemplating this suggests his relationship with his partner is on the rocks. Not a nice situation and telling the partner would not help matters. A difficult moral conundrum.