Who to leave money to in will?

user1977

diystarter7 said:

How can one ensure that there will is not overturned if you leave out someone you seriously dislike, EG a member of the family/etc. Recent court cases, high profile ones have dishearted me 

Can you point us towards any of these? I suspect you've gained a misleading impression about the likelihood of such things happening.

Robin9

Perhaps these court cases are the result of badly written, DIY or will writers. 

Mojisola

diystarter7 said:

How can one ensure that there will is not overturned if you leave out someone you seriously dislike, EG a member of the family/etc.

The usual advice is that you write a letter which is kept with the will, explaining your reasons for not including people who might expect to receive an inheritance from you.  Unless you are financially supporting someone at the time of your death, very few challenges to a will succeed.  Just being a blood relation doesn't give you any inheritance rights (in England and Wales).
Once you decide which charities to leave your estate to, get a recommended solicitor to write it - even consider making them the executor unless one of the charities is willing to be named.

cymruchris

I've left a portion of whatever I have left when I'm gone to a specific named charity. On the advice of a solicitor, I've also given the executors the option of selecting their own charity if my named charity no longer exists, with the requirement that the chosen replacement has broadly the same ethics and target audience as my originally intended choice. (I don't have the will at hand at the moment for the specific wording). I have also excluded a sibling completely from my will, and have written a letter outlining why that is in storage with the original will itself. I would certainly get it done by a solicitor rather than trying to write it yourself if that's what you were thinking of doing. 

Dustybee

Marcon said:

The large charities need to offer a salary which is high enough to attract the quality of individual they need to run what is a business. The days of well meaning people who bumble along without the necessary skills, paid a pittance because they should be happy they are 'doing something good', are long gone.

I'm going off topic but I'm afraid I'm getting fed up of this argument about paying the extortionate salaries to get the right person. That's the excuse council leaders, NHS managers, housing association ceo's etc. always use. As an example, just look at the Rochdale housing association ceo pay in the last couple of weeks.

Silvertabby

Robin9 said:

Perhaps these court cases are the result of badly written, DIY or will writers. 

Not a Will, but a pension fund beneficiary.

Nominee was listed as "Mrs Blogs, manageress of XXX Hospice".  The LGPS and lawyers for both Mrs Blogs and the Hospice were still chewing over that one when I retired.

theoretica

On the other side of extortionate sums to CEOs, I personally choose to avoid charities which don't pay their ordinary workers fairly - real living wage at least, and in keeping with the skills and experience required. 

Marcon

Dustybee said:

Marcon said:

The large charities need to offer a salary which is high enough to attract the quality of individual they need to run what is a business. The days of well meaning people who bumble along without the necessary skills, paid a pittance because they should be happy they are 'doing something good', are long gone.

I'm going off topic but I'm afraid I'm getting fed up of this argument about paying the extortionate salaries to get the right person. That's the excuse council leaders, NHS managers, housing association ceo's etc. always use. 

I think you might be out of touch with executive salaries. If you don't pay enough to get quality, you are guaranteed dross - although I have to say when you look at the calibre of some individuals who are appointed, you have to question the quality of the people doing the selection!

 

Marcon

diystarter7 said:

How can one ensure that there will is not overturned if you leave out someone you seriously dislike, EG a member of the family/etc. Recent court cases, high profile ones have dishearted me and I've felt sorry for the persons that left money for others but then it was gifted via court action to someone they certainly did not want to leave a penny to.

Leave some money to a large charity and let them know you've done so, particularly if it's a %age of the estate rather than a fixed sum. Some of the most aggressive lawyers I've ever met are those who work for large charities ensuring they get what they were promised...

Pennylane

In our area there are a few villages and small towns that have been buying up small properties for many years and then renting them to local people at affordable rents.  They  have also been left properties and money by villagers in their Wills.  I rather like this idea.  In fact our very first home was in a village trust property but in another part of the country.  It gives young people a first home and as the committees are made up of volunteers nobody is getting paid a fat salary.