Is explanatory letter a good idea?

Radioactive

I am preparing to write my will, and have obtained much useful advice from reading various threads in this forum.

My situation is simple - I am not married, have no children or dependents. My only close relative is my brother. He is married and lives abroad. I am not close to him, and was intending to omit him from the will. I have decided to leave all my assets to charity.

My brother may be surprised when he discovers this. He may even be peeved. From reading answers to other questions on this forum, it seems he would not however, be in a position to contest my will.

My understanding is that wills generally contain only details of who is to be a beneficiary, not of who is not. I am therefore concerned that if my brother does not appear as a beneficiary, he may contest the will by claiming his name was omitted as a result of pressure applied by the charities, and/or due to a mental incapacity on my part.

Just to prevent any question of a challenge, would it be wise for me to attach an "explanatory letter" to the will, stating my decision to omit him was "a considered decision made after long thought and with no outside influence nor mental incapacity"?

Another option might be to leave him a token amount. That way the will demonstrates that he had been considered in my deliberations.

Do you think writing an explanatory letter is wise or necessary, and if not, would a token legacy be a more acceptable alternative. I'm interested in hearing what is considered "standard practice" in such circumstances.

SeniorSam

You could write a letter, but it is not necessary. Also, if you are leaving your entire estate to charity, then the charity may be prepared to write the Will for you without charge. You could mention in your Will that you have omitted your brother as you feel that benefiting the charity is more important to you.

Your brother could not challenge your Will as there are no grounds for doing so.

Should you marry or have children, or just change your mind, then a new Will would overule a previous Will.

Sam

Browntoa

he has no grounds to contest the will if he is not financially dependent on you

BobQ

I agree with the above. If you contact the charities one may be willing to help you produce a simple Will through their solicitor. Also if a charity is the executor they will have an incentive to oppose any challenge.

One other point, get the Will done professionally (not a DIY will) as it is less likely to provide any grounds for challenge and has professional witnesses..

FreeBear

BobQ wrote: »

I agree with the above. If you contact the charities one may be willing to help you produce a simple Will through their solicitor. Also if a charity is the executor they will have an incentive to oppose any challenge.

One other point, get the Will done professionally (not a DIY will) as it is less likely to provide any grounds for challenge and has professional witnesses..

Having a qualified solicitor to draw up the will reduces the chances of it being overruled on a technicality - Always ask the solicitor to make copious notes with the view to producing a Larke-v-Nugus statement should one ever be needed.

The statement would be the first step in challenging the validity of a will, so it pays to make sure it would stand up to scrutiny.

Radioactive

Many thanks to all who took the time and trouble to reply. You have given me some good ideas - especially the one of getting the charity to be the executor. The choice of executor was another concern I had, and I think this could be the answer.

jackyann

You may however, wish (depending on your general family situation) to leave mementoes to your brother, or say that he may choose a keepsake from your personal items.