leaving a will

rexel

my wife and myself are over 70 and are going to rewrite our will. we have four children one of the children has a health problem and is on benefits and is likely to remain on benefits do we wright the will leaving a third to first child third to second child and two thirds to third child and he could give it to child who is on benefits over time.If will it split four ways the child on benefits will have her benefits stopped until money is used up

74jax

I am totally confused.

Do you mean give a quarter to 2 of your children and a half to the 1 of them? So the child on benefits gets nothing?

If one is on benefits and you have the option to help that child off benefits wouldn't that be the better option, or is that not what you mean.

DigForVictory

Take advice - consider a trust & also consider that siblings can turn on each other (sadly) which a trust would make more difficult but would also be more expensive.
Talk to your children! If sib #3 is to be responsible for sib #4's inheritance, what about #1 & #2 having voting rights as well? They may have researched this & have a workable plan already, or at least have other ideas as to how to make it work for Everyone.

Also, be clear with them that any inheritance depends on your health - I'm sure they'll join the MSE community in hoping you don't suffer expensive carehome fees chiselled from your estate, but if you need specialist care, their futures are their wicket & social care already has a hand outstretched over one child.

Talk to each other, take advice, and live a long happy healthy life as possible!

ognum

rexel wrote: »

my wife and myself are over 70 and are going to rewrite our will. we have four children one of the children has a health problem and is on benefits and is likely to remain on benefits do we wright the will leaving a third to first child third to second child and two thirds to third child and he could give it to child who is on benefits over time.If will it split four ways the child on benefits will have her benefits stopped until money is used up

Hmmm, if your child inherits a quarter of your wealth why are you trying to fiddle the system.

The child will not be entitled to benefits until his Inheritence is spent that is the legal way the benefits system works. Why are you trying to do something dishonest and make the rest of us pay for your child when they will have money to support themselves.

What you are suggesting is wrong and you are attempting to defraud the rest of us.

troubleinparadise

That idea is fraud on several levels - you are suggesting that two of your children commit fraud, and the other two cover it up for them.

Do you personally like your tax money paid to those who could afford, even if only for a period of time, to support themselves because they have received an inheritance? I don't.

Not all benefits are affected by a change in financial circumstances - you could be over-complicating things unnecessarily.

And this all supposes that you have assets to bequeath after your deaths - old age can be quite expensive these days!

If you gave one of your children a greater amount of money, that would be theirs entirely - you might wish them to carry out your idea, but they aren't obliged to. If they then divorce or die, or need benefits themselves, that money becomes part of their assets, and no longer available for this scheme.

It's a bad idea; take legal advice on your wills.

Mojisola

You definitely need legal advice.

There's info here - http://www.scope.org.uk/support/families/will-trusts - that might be useful.

Pollycat

rexel wrote: »

my wife and myself are over 70 and are going to rewrite our will. we have four children one of the children has a health problem and is on benefits and is likely to remain on benefits do we wright the will leaving a third to first child third to second child and two thirds to third child and he could give it to child who is on benefits over time.If will it split four ways the child on benefits will have her benefits stopped until money is used up

And what if 3rd child decides to keep the whole of the two thirds?

Ames

It's not fraud for someone to not give an inheritance. It's not fraud for them to work within the law tie it up for specific purposes such as in a trust.

It is fraud for it to be left to a sibling with an arrangement that they'll filter it to the claimant.

It's bloody stupid to do it though, not just from a legal standpoint. It's unfair on the sibling, and there's potential for it all to go wrong. If my mum had left my inheritance to my sister to look after for me I'd never have seen any of it.

I'm estranged from my dad and my sister because of the fallout from dealing with mum's estate. Don't do it to your kids, please.

OP - I know why you're thinking the way you are, but there's another side. I got an inheritance and came off benefits (despite a *lot* of pressure from my support workers). Being out of the system has been the best thing to happen to my health ever. It was terrifying at first, especially as I have trouble with overspending. I have been able to buy some aids and adaptations that have helped, and pay for private therapy.

If there are concerns about your child's ability to handle money - if they have learning disabilities for instance - then you need to look into trusts. It's a specialised area of law though so you'll need proper advice.

theoretica

I think you need to investigate family trusts - they might not be the right solution, but you need professional dedicated advice on this.

I think you should also talk particularly to your child who is on benefits and what he or she wants - being treated like the others might be worth the loss of benefits to them, or indeed buying a house.

Proxima_Centauri

Ames wrote: »

OP - I know why you're thinking the way you are, but there's another side. I got an inheritance and came off benefits (despite a *lot* of pressure from my support workers). Being out of the system has been the best thing to happen to my health ever. It was terrifying at first, especially as I have trouble with overspending. I have been able to buy some aids and adaptations that have helped, and pay for private therapy.

I also understand why the OP is thinking along those lines. But like you, Ames, I think most benefits claimants would much prefer not to be at the whim of the DWP if they could help it. I know if myself and OH came into a substantial sum of money we'd be mighty glad to be rid of them and their antics and live off our own money

z1a

"do we wright the will leaving a third to first child third to second child and two thirds to third child"

That's 4 thirds!