Will writing via a solicitor or a charity?

katejo

Malthusian said:

JGB1955 said:

The problem with leaving a charity a 'fixed amount' is that there may be nothing left for residual (possibly family/friends)  beneficiaries.

Unless you make the fixed £ amount to charity contingent on the total estate value being over a certain size. 

Regarding the advice not to contact the charities before your death: in addition to the benefits others have mentioned, it prevents them hounding you with requests to donate money in life.

katejo said:

The bookcase example does sound very petty! The factor which stopped me completing a will 15 years ago was that I imagined family members complaining about my choices! 😂

Not completing a Will doesn't prevent arguments over your estate. It is more likely to make them worse. It may mean that, for example, instead of an antique bookcase going to the desired beneficiary, the beneficiaries under intestacy all argue about who should get it and how much their shares of the estate should be adjusted as a result.

If you want one of your relatives to have a particular bookcase, then give it to them and buy another one. Possession is nine-tenths of the law when it comes to items that are not valuable enough to be worth suing over.

The Will pjs refers to wasn't vague (based on the info given), the executor played legal chicken with Jane Doe and won. They gambled that she wouldn't sue and she didn't, which was probably sensible. If you can blame the testator(ix) for anything, it was either appointing the wrong executor or appointing them sole executor. It is less likely they would have got away with it if they did not have sole control over the distribution.

If the charity hounded me, I would remove them from the Will. Years ago I did a small regular donation to the NSPCC. They hounded me so much to increase it that I asked  them to stop and said I would cancel my standing order if they didn't. They lost my support. 

pjs493

katejo said:

lr1277 said:

Regarding a charity and wills, I have no experience in this area, but have read 1-2 threads on the subject on this board.

Be wary of leaving a % of your estate to 1 or more charities. Some charities are very agressive in realising value for themselves from a bequest. I think I have seen instances (but can't remember the details) where a charity has forced an inappropriate sale of a property or other assets. Perhaps an executor is forced into a situation the deceased may not have wanted.

I suspect the advice about not contacting the charity before your own death was given so that you do not give the charity a heads up that money is coming their way, as they might scan death notices and then contact the executor wanting their share as quickly as possible.

So the first piece of advice I have seen advised is to leave a charity a fixed amount. Then they won't force the executor into any actions with which they are uncomfortable.

2nd piece of advice is have a bullet proof will drawn up that makes your executor's life easier. By that I mean a will drawn up by a paid for solicitor. It is upto you as to whether a will written during Will Week makes your executor's life easier.

3rd piece of advice is don't appoint the charity's legal team to be the executor of your estate, unless you are giving all your worldly goods to the charity.

You could also search the Death, Probate board on the keyword 'charity' and see if anything comes that informs any decisions you might make.

HTH

I tried the search I suggested and it is not as easy as I remember. I searched on 'charity'. Then when these results were returned, I clicked on Category. Then in the box in the top right hand side, I typed in 'death' then clicked on filter. Many results were returned. It is up to you as to how much time and effort you put into this research.

Yes that is how I interpreted the advice about not informing the charity in advance. Useful tip about a fixed amount. I think I was going to do that anyway. I am comparing the 'free will' options with using a paid solicitor. 

The free will options do involve a solicitor. It’s just that the charity pays the solicitor and not you. 

katejo

pjs493 said:

katejo said:

lr1277 said:

Regarding a charity and wills, I have no experience in this area, but have read 1-2 threads on the subject on this board.

Be wary of leaving a % of your estate to 1 or more charities. Some charities are very agressive in realising value for themselves from a bequest. I think I have seen instances (but can't remember the details) where a charity has forced an inappropriate sale of a property or other assets. Perhaps an executor is forced into a situation the deceased may not have wanted.

I suspect the advice about not contacting the charity before your own death was given so that you do not give the charity a heads up that money is coming their way, as they might scan death notices and then contact the executor wanting their share as quickly as possible.

So the first piece of advice I have seen advised is to leave a charity a fixed amount. Then they won't force the executor into any actions with which they are uncomfortable.

2nd piece of advice is have a bullet proof will drawn up that makes your executor's life easier. By that I mean a will drawn up by a paid for solicitor. It is upto you as to whether a will written during Will Week makes your executor's life easier.

3rd piece of advice is don't appoint the charity's legal team to be the executor of your estate, unless you are giving all your worldly goods to the charity.

You could also search the Death, Probate board on the keyword 'charity' and see if anything comes that informs any decisions you might make.

HTH

I tried the search I suggested and it is not as easy as I remember. I searched on 'charity'. Then when these results were returned, I clicked on Category. Then in the box in the top right hand side, I typed in 'death' then clicked on filter. Many results were returned. It is up to you as to how much time and effort you put into this research.

Yes that is how I interpreted the advice about not informing the charity in advance. Useful tip about a fixed amount. I think I was going to do that anyway. I am comparing the 'free will' options with using a paid solicitor. 

The free will options do involve a solicitor. It’s just that the charity pays the solicitor and not you. 

Yes I am aware of that thanks