Wills

monaymadlol

Hi I had my first Will made a few years ago with will aid. Some things have changed as I'm with a long term partner and we have a mortgage and life insurance. Also some assets have increased. I have some Q's though before I update this will by paying a solicitor as no more will Aid subscription available this year with them:

The life insurance specifies that if one of us dies, the mortgage gets paid off. Does this need to be specified in the Will or does it overwrite anything in the will?

I have a private pension SIPP with II - Does this get cashed out and added to the cash I need to specify in the will, automatically? Or go straight to the partner? Do I need to inform II of anything?

What if my savings or assets change year to year, maybe not drastically anytime soon, but would I need to pay to amend this every single year?

How often should you amend the will, how long should it be, how much detail to you go into (eg funeral arrangements etc)?

My solicitor is charging 150+ vat, I don't know if there's any extras yet, but is that reasonable? Seems same price as co-operative?

Should I be looking at power of attorney or anything else?

I'm still fairly young but want to get atop this 

Thanks 

Keep_pedalling

Life insurance normally falls outside your estate as does your SIPP so should not be included in your will. 

An increase in your net worth should not need a new will unless you wanted to increase a set amount you had left to a beneficiary.

Funeral arrangements are wishes and are not binding on your executors so if your wishes change you could write that out separately to be kept with the will.

I when you say long term partner you are not married, and there a couple of things you should look at. If either of you have assets exceeding you NRB (£325k) then if one of you met in untimely demise your estate is likely to be subject to IHT and if this is the case you might like to think about getting married or form a civil partnership.

If either of you loose mental capacity through illness or accident the unless up you have put lasting powers of attorney in place the partner will could be put in a very difficult position. If that is the case ge5 those in place as well as updating your wills.

Marcon

monaymadlol said:

My solicitor is charging 150+ vat, I don't know if there's any extras yet, but is that reasonable? Seems same price as co-operative?

Should I be looking at power of attorney or anything else?

More than reasonable.

Yes, POA at any age is a good precaution. You can do that yourself; no need for a solicitor.

Mojisola

monaymadlol said:

What if my savings or assets change year to year, maybe not drastically anytime soon, but would I need to pay to amend this every single year?

A well-written will won't mention savings amounts or individual accounts or name properties unless you want the them to go to a particular beneficiary.

If everything is going to be inherited by your partner then it will be covered by your 'estate'. 

monaymadlol

Keep_pedalling said:

Life insurance normally falls outside your estate as does your SIPP so should not be included in your will. 

An increase in your net worth should not need a new will unless you wanted to increase a set amount you had left to a beneficiary.

Funeral arrangements are wishes and are not binding on your executors so if your wishes change you could write that out separately to be kept with the will.

I when you say long term partner you are not married, and there a couple of things you should look at. If either of you have assets exceeding you NRB (£325k) then if one of you met in untimely demise your estate is likely to be subject to IHT and if this is the case you might like to think about getting married or form a civil partnership.

If either of you loose mental capacity through illness or accident the unless up you have put lasting powers of attorney in place the partner will could be put in a very difficult position. If that is the case ge5 those in place as well as updating your wills.

Thanks for the info. 

The 325k assets don't apply to us, we're fairly young.

Yes, specifically, if I left 10k to someone, but a few years later decided to leave 20k... ditto charities, I could increase the amount I decided to leave with increased wealth...

Would this necessitate paying for a fresh Will every few years?

Then if life insurance and the pension fall outside the will...life insurance will pay out to clear mortgage for my partner..then what happens with my sipp?

monaymadlol

Marcon said:

monaymadlol said:

My solicitor is charging 150+ vat, I don't know if there's any extras yet, but is that reasonable? Seems same price as co-operative?

Should I be looking at power of attorney or anything else?

More than reasonable.

Yes, POA at any age is a good precaution. You can do that yourself; no need for a solicitor.

Thanks for the info. Does POA include DNR? How would I go about poa without solicitation?

monaymadlol

Mojisola said:

monaymadlol said:

What if my savings or assets change year to year, maybe not drastically anytime soon, but would I need to pay to amend this every single year?

A well-written will won't mention savings amounts or individual accounts or name properties unless you want the them to go to a particular beneficiary.

If everything is going to be inherited by your partner then it will be covered by your 'estate'. 

Oh for sure but it will mention amounts going to people which could change.

Plus I have a number of physical assets of some value who I'd like to specify how these are distributed or liquidated and shared out % wise 

Keep_pedalling

monaymadlol said:

Marcon said:

monaymadlol said:

My solicitor is charging 150+ vat, I don't know if there's any extras yet, but is that reasonable? Seems same price as co-operative?

Should I be looking at power of attorney or anything else?

More than reasonable.

Yes, POA at any age is a good precaution. You can do that yourself; no need for a solicitor.

Thanks for the info. Does POA include DNR? How would I go about poa without solicitation?

You can document your wishes regarding things like DNR under certain conditions, and you don’t need a solicitor to make LPAs you can do them yourselves. 

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

polar_pig

Regarding your SIPP, you need to make an "Expression of Wish". This is independent to your Will and determines where your SIPP funds go after your death (this fund is deemed to be outside your estate) . Your SIPP provider may have an online form to fill in, or download and email/post or if you contact them, they may send you a paper form to complete and return. It is up to the pension provider (trustees) whether they distribute according to your wishes, but unless there are very good reasons otherwise, they will generally follow your wishes.

Mojisola

monaymadlol said:

Oh for sure but it will mention amounts going to people which could change.

The risk of setting amounts is if you leave far less than you expect by the time you die - the set amounts would be paid out first leaving those left a percentage of the remainder of your estate with very little.

Savvy_Sue

A good solicitor should be able to help you write a will which won't have to be changed every 5 minutes. For example, say you're leaving money to nieces and nephews, but it's possible more will come along, that can be covered.

Also note that unless you're in Scotlad, your will would be invalidated were you to marry or enter a civil partnership.