Intestacy rules would achieve what I want - any point in making a will?

Keep_pedalling

What do you want to happen if both children die before you? 

Malthusian

The other advantage of a Will not already mentioned is that your family knows that the resulting distribution is exactly what you wanted to happen, and stops anyone saying "Snowleopard wanted X Y and Z, they just didn't get around to making a Will".

It saves your family from scouring your house looking for one.

It ensures that if intestacy laws change (which they can and have done), your instructions remain the same.

jamesmorgan

The main benefit in making a will is to smooth the process of administration after someone dies.  The net result may end up being the same, but it will take a lot longer getting there.  Even with a will, managing probate can be a lengthy and complex affair (I know, I have just been through it).  It can be difficult for the executors as they are typically also grieving.  The main question you need to ask is whether you are happy to put this extra burden on your children.  Writing a simple will is something you should be able to do yourself without using a solicitor (there are plenty of simple examples on the internet to use as a base).  It doesn't need to cost anything.

Martin_the_Unjust

pphillips said:

Perhaps more important is doing a Lasting Power of Attorney.

This, in your circumstances, is far more important than a will, and it must be done while you are of sound mind, leaving it till you need it (hopefully you won't) causes lots of problems for your nearest and dearest.

snowleopard61

Thanks to all for the responses.  Unfortunately I’ve just typed a detailed response, hit the back button and the wretched thing disappeared!  So, here goes again:

 

Keep_pedalling:  As mentioned, if both my children predecease me, I don’t mind what happens to my property; if it reverts to the state, so be it.

 

Malthusian: I would tell my children I had deliberately not left a will – I had agreed this with my own parents (for the same reason, that intestacy would achieve the desired result) and it worked fine. The possibility that intestacy rules may change is a good point, although it’s hard to see what reasonable rules would not ensure that a small estate be divided between two children or go to the survivor of them, where there is no one else who could possibly make a claim.

 

jamesmorgan: In my experience of applying for letters of administration twice (once doing the admin for my mother who inherited everything from my father, then eventually on my own behalf when my mother died), it could not have been simpler. On the other hand, a close friend was executor of a will for someone who had no close family but generously left a large number of legacies, and it was complex, exhausting and expensive (not because of any legal uncertainties, it just was). I would say it’s most important to ensure that the beneficiaries have an up-to-date list of accounts and policies; whether or not one leaves a will, it would be a nightmare to administer an estate without it.

 

pphillips and Martin_the_Unjust: Thank you for the mention of a lasting power of attorney.  This is something I hadn’t thought of, and will give attention to.

 

Overall now, I’m actually minded to use a basic will form and leave a will, so thank you all for the encouragement to do so, and for all the useful observations.

snowleopard61

A separate point – I didn’t really want to go into this as it doesn’t have a bearing on the question I originally asked, but it’s a dilemma that has been going round in my head for years and this is as good a place as any to ask it.

 

One of my daughters (call her daughter lives with her partner.  They still rent but are reasonably well off and could buy; the fact that they haven’t yet has more to do with location and circumstances.  If they were to split up, she would still be able to afford a deposit and a mortgage, although obviously for somewhere much smaller.  Basically you could say she is sorted.

 

The other (call her daughter A) still lives at home; is in a relationship but not (yet) at the point of considering moving in with her partner.  I hope her relationship will work out, but there are no guarantees. She also has a long history of mental health problems, with serious depression and suicide attempts, although is currently well and working full-time. 

 

I would not in any circumstances consider leaving my daughters unequal shares (hence why it has no bearing on the original question I asked in this thread).  But in the event of my death, the house would have to be sold if daughter B were to have her share, and half the proceeds would not be enough to buy even a small flat outright for daughter A (anywhere in the county).  My concern is that daughter A would have difficulty getting a mortgage to augment her share, given the difficulty of getting life insurance with a history of suicide attempts.  Moving out of the house would not be a problem for her in itself, so long as she could afford somewhere else.

 

I desperately want to avoid causing any conflict between them after my death.  What can I do to protect daughter A’s position (i.e. to ensure that she has a secure home) and still allow daughter B to have an equal share of my estate?

 

 

snowleopard61

Sorry, something strange happened in the second paragraph!  Should read "call her daughter B" - not a weird sunglasses smiley.

Malthusian

snowleopard61 said:

I would not in any circumstances consider leaving my daughters unequal shares (hence why it has no bearing on the original question I asked in this thread).  But in the event of my death, the house would have to be sold if daughter B were to have her share, and half the proceeds would not be enough to buy even a small flat outright for daughter A (anywhere in the county).  My concern is that daughter A would have difficulty getting a mortgage to augment her share, given the difficulty of getting life insurance with a history of suicide attempts.  Moving out of the house would not be a problem for her in itself, so long as she could afford somewhere else.

An obvious and common solution is to leave A the right to occupy the house for her lifetime, with half the capital passing to B when she dies or moves out. That amounts to a substantially greater share being left to A (as they are siblings there is a good chance B would never see any money from her half of the house in her lifetime). But if you want to leave equal shares to your children while giving A a secure place to live for her lifetime, you will have to make your mind up.

I am not an expert on mortgages but I don't believe it's essential to qualify for life insurance in order to get a mortgage. I didn't need one for mine. With the benefit of her inheritance, she could get a mortgage with a low enough loan-to-value ratio that the lender doesn't care tuppence about life insurance because if she dies there's no realistic prospect of not getting the money back from selling her property. Assuming, of course, that she qualified for a mortgage in all other respects (i.e. affordability).

If her mental health is not strong, would the responsbilities of home ownership be appropriate at this time? Would she still want to live in your house on her own?

snowleopard61

Thanks Malthusian.

 

With regard to the first para, I definitely wouldn’t do that.  I think it would be more unfair to daughter B than the alternative would be to daughter A, and I would expect daughter B to feel rightly aggrieved and resentful (whereas daughter A wouldn’t feel an equal split at the time of my death was unfair even it was difficult for her).  They are very close in age too, so there is no reason why one should substantially outlive the other in the ordinary course of things.

 

I think you may be right; that any mortgage she would need to buy a place of her own would be so small that life insurance would not be a major issue. 

 

She would have to live somewhere, and owning (especially with a very small mortgage) would give her much more security than renting.  I do think she could cope in terms of “life admin”, yes.

 

I don’t think she would mind overly whether she lived in my house or somewhere else if she were on her own – if she had a preference I think it would be to have her own flat.  I would like to think she will have a life partner;  it just can’t be guaranteed at the moment.

snowleopard61

I would of course make it clear to both of them what the situation was, before it came about (assuming I don't die right now!).