Help with Will wording for a property that is not yet ours...

davidmcn

It only makes sense to specify the property if you want something specific done with the property (as opposed to the rest of your estate). In any event, you can always refer to it as "21 Acacia Avenue, or such other property as may be my principal residence at the date of my death" or similar wording.

AnotherJoe

I know someone where parent left "21 Acacia Avenue" to them and residue to someone else. Originally that would have meant assets were 90% house 10% cash.

A few months before they died they went into care and house was sold to pay for it (expected to be over several years but wasa few months) leaving 100% cash.

They got nothing. Even if the person who died would have wanted to change the will they may not have been in a mental condition to do so at the time, and theres always a time gap anyway even if they are compos mentis.

Same could happen if prior to death they moved to 20 Acacia Avenue (perhaps downsizing).
Again, that specific legacy would fail and unintended consequences follow.
Same with deciding you want to leave 20 Acacia Ave to Person A and 21 Acacia Ave to B, what happens with last minute changes in ownership that cannot be catered for by will changes due to timing and circumstances. This can bring out the bad in people and destroy families.



So, its generally a really bad idea to specify. You'd need some unusual circumstances to make it the right thing to do.

Silvertabby

AnotherJoe wrote: »

I know someone where parent left "21 Acacia Avenue" to them and residue to someone else. Originally that would have meant assets were 90% house 10% cash.

A few months before they died they went into care and house was sold to pay for it (expected to be over several years but wasa few months) leaving 100% cash.

They got nothing. Even if the person who died would have wanted to change the will they may not have been in a mental condition to do so at the time, and theres always a time gap anyway even if they are compos mentis.

Same could happen if prior to death they moved to 20 Acacia Avenue (perhaps downsizing).
Again, that specific legacy would fail and unintended consequences follow.
Same with deciding you want to leave 20 Acacia Ave to Person A and 21 Acacia Ave to B, what happens with last minute changes in ownership that cannot be catered for by will changes due to timing and circumstances. This can bring out the bad in people and destroy families.



So, its generally a really bad idea to specify. You'd need some unusual circumstances to make it the right thing to do.

I remember this case - or one very similar. One would hope that that the person who inherited 100% instead of the 10% they expected would 'do the decent thing' but .......

AnotherJoe

Silvertabby wrote: »

I remember this case - or one very similar. One would hope that that the person who inherited 100% instead of the 10% they expected would 'do the decent thing' but .......

If they had, you wouldn't have heard of it

Sea_Shell

I agree with the others. Don't specifically name property in a will, for all the reasons given above.

Not only would you have to keep updating your will, but it can lead to unintended consequences.

andrewjemima

Thank you very much everyone, we will update our will to "estate" rather than specifying the properties. A great forum this is!! Thanks again.

macman

If you were both (husband or civil parther) to become deceased before the transfer of the property, then it would be irrelevant anyway. The property would pass from the estate to your mother's next-in-line descendants, which would be your children, if any, or as her will specifies, were you to pre-decease her.

Mojisola

andrewjemima wrote: »

My mother died earlier this year, leaving me (as the only child) her whole estate including her property.

macman wrote: »

If you were both (husband or civil parther) to become deceased before the transfer of the property, then it would be irrelevant anyway.

The property would pass from the estate to your mother's next-in-line descendants, which would be your children, if any, or as her will specifies, were you to pre-decease her.

This isn't right. It would only happen this way if the OP had died before the mother.

The mother's estate has already been inherited by the OP.