Info to give to Solicitor?

Roland_Flagg

Myself and my girlfriend, who live together, are going to make Wills next week from a Solicitor offering the Will Aid service.

Basically all we want is in the event of my death all my assets go to her, and vice-versa.

Is it as simple as telling them that? Or do we need to provide a list of assets, investments, bank accounts etc?

SevenOfNine

No, because all the finer details of your finances might change.

Just be very clear in your own mind that you want everything of yours to go to her & vice versa before you go, & it sounds like you do. Give some thought to 'plan B' - you live together, more than likely travel together, so what do you want to happen if you both died together?

I think (but not sure) that if exact time of death cannot be established beyond doubt, then the oldest is deemed to have died first. In which case (& I'm happy to be corrected by those who know better), everything you both have may end up with only one family side of the two of you as a couple.

Make sure you revise your wills regularly as your circumstances change (marriage, children, splitting up etc).

Do not choose the solicitor as executor, personally I see no real need to let them store the wills either but each to their own on that front.

Manxman_in_exile

SevenOfNine wrote: »

No, because all the finer details of your finances might change.

Just be very clear in your own mind that you want everything of yours to go to her & vice versa before you go, & it sounds like you do. Give some thought to 'plan B' - you live together, more than likely travel together, so what do you want to happen if you both died together?

I think (but not sure) that if exact time of death cannot be established beyond doubt, then the oldest is deemed to have died first. In which case (& I'm happy to be corrected by those who know better), everything you both have may end up with only one family side of the two of you as a couple.

Make sure you revise your wills regularly as your circumstances change (marriage, children, splitting up etc).

Do not choose the solicitor as executor, personally I see no real need to let them store the wills either but each to their own on that front.

This is exactly what you need to consider. I'm not certain about the "older being deemed to die first" if you are both killed in an accident etc., but that's certainly what the law was years ago - not sure if it's still the same.


My wife is a solicitor and we have three law degrees between us. We did our own wills (:)) and a couple of years later we realised we hadn't taken into account what would happen if we died together(:(). We have no kids so it was important to think carefully about what we wanted to go to nephews and nieces.


We got a solicitor to do it properly.

Mojisola

SevenOfNine wrote: »

Give some thought to 'plan B' - you live together, more than likely travel together, so what do you want to happen if you both died together?

I think (but not sure) that if exact time of death cannot be established beyond doubt, then the oldest is deemed to have died first. In which case (& I'm happy to be corrected by those who know better), everything you both have may end up with only one family side of the two of you as a couple.

A good will should make provision for this by including a survivorship clause.

Flugelhorn

re the finances / investments / accounts - we have a list that is in an envelope with the will as info for the executors. It gets updated as things change. When the executors were youngish (still at Uni) it contained the names and contact details of utterly reliable family member who knows his way around all this and agreed to help if needed.
Also had a survivorship clause in which in the event of all four of our deaths, then 4 friends would get something of a windfall.