Dad's will

flyer

My dad is 84 and wants to do a will but has a few friends and relatives who have paid a lot of money to have a simple will produced.
Facts are
Mum and Dad are 83 and 84 respectively
They own their home, value £130 000 and have assets of jewellery etc about £20 000
They have 4 children, I am one of them and he wants me to be executor
What he wants to do,on his death, is for the children to inherit his 50% of the house, with mum retaining the other 50% along with the right to live there rent free until she dies.
Mum's will would be identical.
In essence what he's trying to do is minimise the amount of money that could be consumed by rest homes in the future.
I have a standard will template but am struggling to word this.
Any ideas?

Robin9

Please, please do get a solicitor to do this - ring around and get a few quotes. 
Have you thought about the what ifs - one (or more) of the children predecease your parents, what happens to their share - to the spouse, what happens if the spouse remarries and the new husband/wife inherits? all the children married ?

flyer

Good points. I think you're right!

-taff

If they own their home jointly, then the house will pass to the survivor in it's entirety after one of their deaths so there's no need to half that . What they could do is say what happens to it if both of them should have passed.

xylophone

Do your parents own their home as tenants-in- common?

What he wants to do,on his death, is for the children to inherit his 50% of the house, with mum retaining the other 50% along with the right to live there rent free until she dies.

If not and they own it as joint tenants, they will need to sever the joint tenancy in order to do the above.

Once that is done, each can leave his/her beneficial interest in the property to the children with an "interest in possession" clause to the survivor.

With regard to the care home aspect, whichever way the home is owned, if only one of the parties went into care, the home could not be taken into account in the means test.

If one went into care, died, and then the other had to go into care, then the home would be taken into account in the means test. This is where the benefit of the TiC ownership comes into play because clearly, in that scenario, on the death of the first party, his/her beneficial interest belonged to his beneficiary/ies.

https://www.marlowwills.co.uk/life-interest-in-possession-trusts.aspx

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/mar/30/as-tenants-in-common-could-we-specify-that-our-children-inherit-our-property

Dox

flyer said:

My dad is 84 and wants to do a will but has a few friends and relatives who have paid a lot of money to have a simple will produced.
Facts are
Mum and Dad are 83 and 84 respectively
They own their home, value £130 000 and have assets of jewellery etc about £20 000
They have 4 children, I am one of them and he wants me to be executor
What he wants to do,on his death, is for the children to inherit his 50% of the house, with mum retaining the other 50% along with the right to live there rent free until she dies.
Mum's will would be identical.
In essence what he's trying to do is minimise the amount of money that could be consumed by rest homes in the future.
I have a standard will template but am struggling to word this.
Any ideas?

This isn't a DIY job. Get a solicitor to draw up suitable wills - and if your parents think through and set out in simple English what they'd like to happen, as opposed to dithering and changing their mind endlessly as some clients do (that's where the fees start racking up), it won't be a major job for a competent solicitor.

Mojisola

flyer said:

My dad is 84 and wants to do a will but has a few friends and relatives who have paid a lot of money to have a simple will produced.

Phone around local solicitors and ask for a quote.  Look for a Society of Trust and Estate Practitioner (STEP).

A straightforward will shouldn't be expensive.

flyer

Thanks all. I think I will get a solicitor!

Mojisola

flyer said:

Thanks all. I think I will get a solicitor!

Even with a good solicitor, make sure the wills are properly proof-read before signing.

Flugelhorn

Mojisola said:

flyer said:

Thanks all. I think I will get a solicitor!

Even with a good solicitor, make sure the wills are properly proof-read before signing.

Quite - my parents' will had my name spelt  wrong and no-one noticed at the time. 

flyer

Just to let you know I've got a solicitor. £300 for both. Thanks for your comments.