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Money and terminal illness
hangryconsumer
Posts: 101 Forumite
I want to help someone but they won’t let me.
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Comments
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I do think they are potentially getting a little ahead of themselves - Dr Google is not always accurate.The GP is not going to confirm whether or not a diagnosis is terminal because they don’t know that. That’s the role of the hospital consultant to assess and discuss. No one can answer that question until they have had their hospital appointment - can you imagine the upset caused by a GP telling someone they were going to die them having to backtrack if that wasn’t the case?I’m unclear from your post where any disciplinary action might be coming from and I have no idea why they are submitting multiple complaints when at the moment there’s no evidence that anyone has done anything wrong.What makes them think their money might go to the government? That’s only if someone does without a will and has no traceable relatives at all, whereas in reality that applies to very few people- there’s normally a distant cousin or someone somewhere in the background. However there’s no reason why they can’t just pay a solicitor to make a will if they feel so strongly that they do need one. Although LPA may be more relevant.
Either way, they should wait till they see the consultant. All bets are off till then and you would be helping them by getting them to take a step back till things are a little clearer.All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.1 -
Since they are currently domiciled in England, if they are immediately concerned then paying to get a will written under English law that decides what happens if they die before moving to Scotland might be a precaution they want to take.
If they really have no relatives, then leave it all to a Scottish organisation they wish to support. Some of them pay offer a subsided will service.The person who has not made a mistake, has made nothing0 -
The money won’t go to the government if they die intestate under English law. It will go to the relatives as set out under the intestacy laws. The obvious answer is not to die intestate.If they have property in Scotland then I believe that falls under Scottish law.
The employee could answer the phone and explain that they are waiting for a hospital referral and won’t have any answers till then. That’s not a lie. And keeping in touch with the employer would seem to be a lot less stressful than the alternatives.All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.0 -
hangryconsumer said:The money will go to the government in the event of intestacy, if they die in England. They don't plan to die in England but who knows if they'll be able escape the clutches of the English government. That is part of the reason for posting here. They don't care if they die in England, as long as you don't get a penny of their money after their death.Writing a will that leaves the estate to charities or Scottish organisations would seem to be the way to go as long as the blood relations aren't close enough to make a claim under Scottish laws (if the person moves back to Scotland and makes a will under Scottish laws).I had a relative who had been helped a great deal as a child by a particular charity. He arranged with the charity that they took over ownership of his house while he was alive (retaining the right to live there until he died) - this was to keep a certain relative from making claims on it. That might be worth exploring if this person is only given a short time to live but they will need to be aware of the deprivation of assets rules if care is ever needed.0
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hangryconsumer said:Thank you for that post mojisola.They don't want their Scottish relatives to inherit their estate. It seems that moving back to Scotland would mean their money earned as a result of suffering would go to the Scottish relatives. Therefore their domcile should stay in England if they don't want blood relatives to get ahold of their blood money.They also don't want the English to get their money, so how would they avoid that?
They really need to make an appointment with a solicitor to get a will sorted out, not use the free union service which is not face to face. Any English will will be valid if he moves to Scotland the only real difference if that if he has children they have legal rights allowing them to claim from the estate even if they are not in the will, so if he has estranged children he really should not move to Scotland.1 -
hangryconsumer said:Thank you for that post mojisola.They don't want their Scottish relatives to inherit their estate. It seems that moving back to Scotland would mean their money earned as a result of suffering would go to the Scottish relatives. Therefore their domcile should stay in England if they don't want blood relatives to get ahold of their blood money.They also don't want the English to get their money, so how would they avoid that?They make a will under the law of whatever country they are resident in saying they want to leave their money to the Welsh, the French, The Germans, the man in the moon or whoever else they want to leave it to....My understanding is that Scottish law only gives rights to children of the deceased to some of their estate. so unless the relatives you mention are children then whether they are domiciled in Scotland or England is neither here nor there - the relatives won't have a claim, unless they decide to contest the will on the grounds that they are financially dependant on the deceased, which they could do in either country.Whilst the possibility of terminal illness does often make one think about what will happen to your 'stuff' after you die, I'd suggest it would be better for you to encourage them to think about where they would actually enjoying living and spending time during their final days, rather than moving to another country simply because they think it may potentially avoid people that they don't like getting their 'stuff' after they are past caring anyhow. I'd also suspect that if they do turn out to have a very short life expectancy, then practically it may well be too late to be officially changing their country of domicile anyhow - it's doesn't just happen the day after you move to a different country.I'd also echo Elsien's comment that they may be getting ahead of themselves. A GP isn't going to give a teminal diagnosis. They need to see the clinical consultant, ask them for a prognosis (they often don't tell you unless you explicitly ask as not everyone in that situation wants to know) and if it is terminal and less than twelve months, get them to put it into writing.If they're under 75 (I think) then that letter would allow them to access their entire pension tax free (assuming it's a Defined Contribution one - I'm not sure about Defined Benefit ones). If they are under state Pension age then it will also allow a fast track claim to DWP for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) (at least in England, I'm not sure how devolved Scotland now is on the benefits side of thing, and have no idea whether France would offer anything to non French Nationals, but I somehow doubt it).I'd also suggest they should not be too hasty about resigning from their employment, but rather consider the possibilty of being signed off sick - If they quit they may be missing out not only on sick pay or salary depending on their terms of employment but also potential Death In Service benefits for loved ones after their death (although from the sound of it they don't have any loved ones so this latter may not be relevant /important ?).You don't say what the illness is, but if it is (or turns out to be) some form of cancer, then I'd strongly recommend that - if not automatically allocated a Sue Ryder and/or MacMillan nurse - they get in touch with those organisations, as they don't just deal with the treatment of the illness but can provide much advice and assistance on things like claiming benefits such as PIP etc,0
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Their money will not go to the "English Government" as there has been no such thing for over 300 years.
If they do not want their estate to either end up with obscure relatives or the Crown, then a simple will leaving everything after funeral expenses to a charity or charities is all that's needed. Most major charities offer free wills if you are leaving a sizeable donation to them.1 -
They could always spend any money they receive whilst they are still alive, then no one will get it.If you go down to the woods today you better not go alone.0
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Some misconceptions here about Scottish Legal RightsThese rights are due whether or not a Will is in place, and relates to only the moveable estate of the deceased, so not property or land. It's easier to imagine turning a house upside down and shaking it - anything which falls to the floor is moveable estate, plus cash and cars etc.It's important that your friend understand this facet of Scots Law.1
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If they don't want you putting this out there on a forum, however anonymously, then I would suggest that you should respect their wishes and stop asking any more questions on their behalf.
If they carry on reading, see you describing them as highly strung and unhappy and then you carrying on putting their business out there when they've told you not to it's not going to do your relationship any good at all, however helpful you are trying to be.All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.3
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