Unpaid beneficiary but now with terminal illness

Londonrobert1963

Hi
Am desperate to get advice on this.
A friend of mine passed in May 2015 and the executor has told me I am due £10,000 as his beneficiary.
The Will is complicated because an infant is main beneficiary and some other problem regarding an insurance policy.
Under normal circumstances I would leave all alone and wait for the Will to be completed.
The problem now, however, is that I was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the Summer, not long after my friend's passing in fact, and I cold have less than 6 months to live.
Can I add an 'addendum' to my Will to take my inheritance into account?
What should I do as I'd rather leave this gift to my family members rather than lose it, any ideas?

System

Because you are alive after the death of the testator then the bequest will be payable either to yourself or your estate if you die before they get around to paying out.

Whether you can include it as part of your will before the other estate is settled, I don't know

Yorkshireman99

Londonrobert1963 wrote: »

Hi
Am desperate to get advice on this.
A friend of mine passed in May 2015 and the executor has told me I am due £10,000 as his beneficiary.
The Will is complicated because an infant is main beneficiary and some other problem regarding an insurance policy.
Under normal circumstances I would leave all alone and wait for the Will to be completed.
The problem now, however, is that I was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the Summer, not long after my friend's passing in fact, and I cold have less than 6 months to live.
Can I add an 'addendum' to my Will to take my inheritance into account?
What should I do as I'd rather leave this gift to my family members rather than lose it, any ideas?

Please be reassured. The money will still be due to you or your estate because the crucial date is that of your friend's death. It would be sensible to tell your executor to make sure they claim it if need be.

WYSPECIAL

Because your friend has already died the gift is already yours, and forms part of your estate, even though tragically you may never actually benefit from it.

It may be worth getting a copy of your friends Will and keeping it with your own Will and personal papers so that your family know about it and benefit in the long run

dzug1

The money will form part of your estate and will be distributed in accordance with the terms of your will.


If you wish to change that distribution in the light of the bequest, then you will need to change your will. If the distribution doesn't need to be changed, then you need take no action.


Other than making sure your executor knows it's coming

Keep_pedalling

If you want this gift to be given to specific people then you can add a codicil to you existing will to that effect. Also if inheritance tax is a concern to you then you should be able to apply for a deed of variation to your friend's will so that your inheritance passes straight to your family members and so never becomes part of your estate.

I think under the circumstances it would be advisable to make an appointment with a solicitor to check over you current will and to make any changes nessasary.

G_M

A Deed of Variation to your friend's will is a good idea if your friends estate, and yours are both going to be liable for Inheritance Tax.

Your frend's estate would pay aprox £4K to the taxman before you get your £10K (so £14K becomes £10K).

Then of that £10K in YOUR estate, the taxman will take another £4K, so your Beneficiary will only get £6K (of the original £14K)!

If a Deed of Variation is attached to your freind's will, so that the person you've named in your will as Beneficiary becomes the direct Beneficiary of your friend's will in your place, he'll receive £10k (of that original £14K) instead of 6.

Or in other words, the 10K will only be taxed once on one estate instead of twice.

Of course, if your estate is valued at less than £325K in total there'll be no tax to pay so it won't make any difference.

TBagpuss

as others have said, because your friend dies before you, you are already entitled to the money and that doesn't change if you die (many wills have a surviorship claise but this is generlaly pretty short - normally 28 days, and is there to avoid complications when two people die at the same time, so would not apply in your case)

If the money is a significant amlount for you then you could also apprioach the executors of your firned's will and ask whether they can make a payment on account so you recieve at least part of your entitlement while you can still benefit from it.

I would second the recommendations to revise your will to make sure that t is up to date and accurately reflects your wishes, and to ensure that your executors are aware of the bequest and that they may need to claim it. You can leave a note or letter of explanation to be kept with your will, and include details such as your friends name and date of death, the name and contact details of anyone dealing with their estate, and a copy of any correspondence you've had about the bequest (or a note of where you kep that)