Looking for advice on Wills etc

DoneWorking

My wife and I want to arrange our will and PoA

Our affairs are fairly simple 
We have one adult  child
Plus I have an adult  child from a previous relationship

I want my wife to have everything 
if I die first 
I want both my children to share everything should my wife die before me
I will make one gift to charity

My wife wants me to have everything  if she dies first 

She wants both children to share everything should my I die before her

She will make one gift to charity

We own our own house outright 
We own another house which we want to sell.
It is currently empty.

Is it best to 
Arrange Will via specialist  Will Company

Arrange Will via Solicitor

Arrange Will via Charity 

We both want the two children to be executors
Should I add a solicitor 

What are the likely legal costs for dealing with the death of either my wife or I and arranging settlement

Is PoA easy to set up 
I'd be grateful for any guidance 

Our affairs are relatively straight forward
Do we need a Trust

Finally 
Do you have any advice on tax issues 

Flugelhorn

1) re POA you can set this up yourself  - https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney
2) re the will and your wishes, what you describe is not unusual but definitely best to see a solicitor who would be able to word it properly in a will for you 

Mark_d

I think it's worth using a solicitor for wills.  For LPA, it straightforward to do it on the gov website.

Trusts can be useful for tax reasons (likely an important consideration for you) and can also ensure that things happen as you wish when you die.  If you die first, your wife inherits everything from you.  She can then change her will so the children get nothing when she dies.

You're best getting tax advise from a professional who understands your finances.

DoneWorking

Mark_d said:

I think it's worth using a solicitor for wills.  For LPA, it straightforward to do it on the gov website.

Trusts can be useful for tax reasons (likely an important consideration for you) and can also ensure that things happen as you wish when you die.  If you die first, your wife inherits everything from you.  She can then change her will so the children get nothing when she dies.

You're best getting tax advise from a professional who understands your finances.

Thanks 
My main concern would be excessive costs from a solicitor in settling the will after the death of my wife or I

I'm assuming if one of us dies first the other partner gets everything tax free and costs should be fairly low

As regards Trust neither my wife or I would be likely to alter our wills after the death of the other partner
But of course there is the issue of remarriage 
Which is unlikely but not impossible 

Mark_d

The surviving spouse/child would likely appoint a solicitor to handle probate.  It's not a cheap process but with a little research you can find a reputable solicitor charging reasonable costs.

As you say, the process should be fairly straightforward on the first death.  On the second death then your children could be liable to inheritance tax which you could avoid by putting your estate in trust.

You don't know when you'll die.  It's not impossible that your wife finds happiness with another man some time after your death.  Would you want any part of your estate eventually going to your wife's future husband or perhaps to his children?

In my case things are very simple. My spouse and I have no children.  If I die first, my spouse gets everything.  Whilst dying I'd be happy knowing that my spouse will not have any financial worries.  But I don't care too much what happens after I'm dead.

As part of your considerations you will need to consider your pension.  This is not part of your estate but you might also want to put it in trust.

Keep_pedalling

As we are talking about blended families, I would suggest rather than leaving everything to the surviving spouse that your wills create an immediate post death interest trust on the first death. This protects your child’s inheritance and provides security for the surviving spouse. It is also tax efficient. 

Avoid unregulated will writing companies and employ a ST`EP qualified solicitor who is an expert in trusts.

RAS

You do realise that you die first and your wife remarries, neither of your children get anything if you've left the whole estate to her without an IPDI trust?

And if she didn't remarry, she could leave everything to your shared child, or the cat's home? All to easy if as she gets older the children have less contact with her and she takes umbrage.

The same but opposite could happen if she dies first.

Cobbler_tone

My mother and father-in-law created a Trust, after a lovely visit from the Co-op to a WI meeting. No-one else knew about it. The mother-in-law passed away on NYD. Between setting up the trust and now sorting out the trust and financial affairs they have spent approaching £20,000, which is around 25% of the value of the current assets being passed to them (the FIL doesn't want anything)...without the house of course, because that is in trust. There are just two children splitting everything. Over 9 months later and they are no nearer to getting her affairs settled.
From my limited exposure to them, certain trusts seem more hassle and expense than what they are worth.
I'd also find a trusted local solicitor to draft a will.

With my parents I have zero knowledge of anything, so that will probably be a different set of issues to navigate at the worst possible time.

Keep_pedalling

Cobbler_tone said:

My mother and father-in-law created a Trust, after a lovely visit from the Co-op to a WI meeting. No-one else knew about it. The mother-in-law passed away on NYD. Between setting up the trust and now sorting out the trust and financial affairs they have spent approaching £20,000, which is around 25% of the value of the current assets being passed to them (the FIL doesn't want anything)...without the house of course, because that is in trust. There are just two children splitting everything. Over 9 months later and they are no nearer to getting her affairs settled.
From my limited exposure to them, certain trusts seem more hassle and expense than what they are worth.
I'd also find a trusted local solicitor to draft a will.

With my parents I have zero knowledge of anything, so that will probably be a different set of issues to navigate at the worst possible time.

That is true of many trusts set up in your lifetime, but an IPDI trust is not one of those, and is something that blended families should almost certainly do, and it is something younger couples  with children should also consider as the chances of a surging spouse remarrying is high.