Wills help please

Abbafan1972

Hi there.

Me and my husband have 2 children and we don’t have a will yet (no judgement please). I want to do this as soon as I can. Unfortunately, with things like this, I have a husband that leaves it all to me.

Can anything give advice on an easy way to do one please? I did get a code through work to get a free one from Farewill, I got so far with it (a joint one) and it was asking about bank accounts and things like that. It just got too overwhelming and I saved my progress and came out of it, so it’s not finished.

Can anyone help please? Our house is owned with a mortgage and this is close to being paid off.

Thanks in advance.

gplion55

There is advice online, but you could buy a DIY will from WH Smiths (or whatever its called these days) and use this as a guide for making a will in your own time along with a large notepad. This way you can plan out what you wish to include and address each topic with your partner as you build your will in your own time.

Once the time is right you can make an official one.

Robin9

You have two children - I suggest DIY is not the way to go. Consult a solicitor.

He/she will go through the "what ifs" - you die first, he dies first …..

How old are the children ? What happens in the worst what if "you both die in an accident" - who would look after the children. The answer may well be different depending on their ages .

lohr500

Or you could contact a charity of your choice and establish if they offer a free will writing service.
They hope you will leave a donation in your will but it is not mandatory.
They will send out an information pack for free which explains the process and gives a list of local practitioners in your area for a face to face meeting, or by telephone if you are unable to travel.

We have just done this to get my mother's will rewritten following the death of her husband/my father.
The work is being carried out by a local solicitor who participates in the National Free Wills Network.
She has chosen to leave a modest fixed amount donation to Sue Ryder. They were very caring and helpful as my father approached end of life.

Unless you have complex finances/trusts to create/etc, the work is completely free (other than a £15 per person to cover identity fraud checks).

I am not an expert on will content, but assuming there is no animosity and it is what you wish, you probably should encourage your husband to join you at the solicitors if you go down this route so the solicitor can create mirror wills.

gwynlas

You also need to think about how you own your home whether joint tenants or tenants in common and whether you leave half property to children on first death with a life long interest for survivor.

Additionally should either of you remarry what this would mean regarding childrens inheritance.

This is too important a matter to DIY wills but you can get a lot planned before aproaching a solicitor

Keep_pedalling

A will is not really something to be done on the cheap and you really need a face to face solicitor to guide you and make sure all the what if situations are covered. I think your main problem is going to be you husband as this is something he needs to be involved with.

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81892103#Comment_81892103

This is terrible advice. A badly drafted will is worse than no will at all.

The OP is married and has children so under intestacy rules if either her, or her husband died the estate would go to the other automatically (up to a certain value) and if they both died it goes to the children - what she needs the will for us to appoint executors and guardians for the children.

If you want to protect part of the value of your property for your kids in the event of remarriage then you need a will. Please go to a solicitor to do this.

Mands

Questions for you, and your husband, not necessarily to reply back here.

• What assets do you have now?
• If something were to happen to you where would you want those to go?
• Does the answer to that change in 5 years? In 50?
• Do the children need guardians?
• Are either of you expecting your financial situation to change in the next few years, with inheritance or similar?

RAS

@Abbafan1972

Is the issue that OH doesn't want to think about dying or you dying?

Or is it that he doesn't know enough about the choices to make decisions?

If it's the first, you need to research intestacy and explain the consequences short-term and long-term of not having a will. Folk here can explain more.

The solution to the latter is a meeting with a good solicitor experienced in wills who can ask the what if? questions. You may need a second meeting to review decisions.

Not ultracheap but a lot cheaper than the mess that could result from a cheap will or intestacy. And a lot less hassle both for the survivor and your children.

While you are about it, do either of you have death in service benefits from your pension provider, and have you completed the nomination form? Costs nothing.

And have you thought about LPAs? Cheap enough to do yourselves on-line.

J63320

You can’t make “a will” for the two of you. You need one each. If your OH isn’t interested, try telling him that unless he is willing to do something about it to protect you and the family when he dies, you are going to make your own will but leave him nothing. That might change his mind.

Abbafan1972

In response to some of the comments - I know it’s not a will for the 2 of us, I meant it was a will for each of us but doing them as a couple rather than a single person, so they mirror each other.

I don’t think it’s a case that he’s reluctant to do it, it’s just that he works long hours and often comes in late - whereas I wfh so “admin tasks” tend to get left to me.