wills

hunsbury0

Hi,

My wife & I are intending to make a new will.
We intend to make mirror wills & appoint each other(the surviving ) as both the benefactor & also the executor.
Is it possible that in the event of both passing away at the same time e.g. plane crash, to appoint 2nd executors( our children) in this sort of events?

Thank you

midnight_express

Yes it is.

G6JNS

hunsbury0 wrote: »

Hi,

My wife & I are intending to make a new will.
We intend to make mirror wills & appoint each other(the surviving ) as both the benefactor & also the executor.
Is it possible that in the event of both passing away at the same time e.g. plane crash, to appoint 2nd executors( our children) in this sort of events?

Thank you

Yes it is but make sure you get is done by a solicitor who will explain theins and outs.

Crabapple

Not only is it possible, it's pretty much essential that you provide at least one alternative to who are executors and who inherits. Otherwise you have to keep remaking documents.

A good solicitor will make sure there are provisions in your Will for eventualities like you say, but even if you didn't die together then your wills should provide for what happens if you are the surviving spouse.

Mojisola

hunsbury0 wrote: »

We intend to make mirror wills & appoint each other(the surviving ) as both the benefactor & also the executor.
Is it possible that in the event of both passing away at the same time e.g. plane crash, to appoint 2nd executors( our children) in this sort of events?

We have three scenarios in our wills -
all to the spouse who is also the executor;
if both of us die, the children are executors and beneficiaries;
if all of us die, two more distant relatives will be executors and our estate distributed between named relatives.

Try to future proof your will to some extent - allow for grandchildren who may be born, say what you want to happen if one of your children dies before you, etc.

pattycake

If my DH and I had mirror wills and the survivor remarries, does that mean that the new spouse would inherit. My thinking is, what about our children - grown adults with their own kids now?.

RAS

This is a frequent and major bone of contention on this forum.

Mojisola

pattycake wrote: »

If my DH and I had mirror wills and the survivor remarries, does that mean that the new spouse would inherit.

My thinking is, what about our children - grown adults with their own kids now?.

It could happen that way.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/pensions/article-2967505/When-William-died-left-300-000-son-never-saw-penny-write-will.html

If you want to protect your children's inheritance, you have to plan for that in the will, for instance, giving your spouse a life interest in your share of the property which then goes to your children after the second death.

G6JNS

pattycake wrote: »

If my DH and I had mirror wills and the survivor remarries, does that mean that the new spouse would inherit. My thinking is, what about our children - grown adults with their own kids now?.

Unless a will is made "In contemplation of marriage to X" then it becomes invalid upon marriage. In the scenario you mention the survivor needs to make a new will before tying the know with the clause in it.

pattycake

G6JNS wrote: »

Unless a will is made "In contemplation of marriage to X" then it becomes invalid upon marriage. In the scenario you mention the survivor needs to make a new will before tying the know with the clause in it.

So in the scenario I painted, it is up to the survivor to do the right thing by the children by making a new will. Unless, the mirror wills reflect the possibility of another marriage after the death of one partner?

My parents' wills were written with a life interest for the survivor. My mother passed away first and it did cause some issues for my dad in the few remaining years he lived. There was no complication of a new spouse though.

G6JNS

pattycake wrote: »

So in the scenario I painted, it is up to the survivor to do the right thing by the children by making a new will. Unless, the mirror wills reflect the possibility of another marriage after the death of one partner?

My parents' wills were written with a life interest for the survivor. My mother passed away first and it did cause some issues for my dad in the few remaining years he lived. There was no complication of a new spouse though.

For a will to remain valid after a marriage it has to specifically name the the proposed spouse so it can't be incorporated in mirror wills.