New wills, all clear and easy... but...

TMSG

We're redoing our wills. It'll be mirror wills, all very straightforward as we're married and have no kids or other dependants. So far, so good. The problem starts with the clause where the surviving spouse dies within X days of the other. This has a long list of charities with their respective gifts which we have created together and this will be identical in both wills as well.

The trouble is that we will want to add small local or regional charities to the list as we run into them over time to leave them a fixed sum, say 5k or 10k or so (the bulk goes to a few national charities). However, it appears that we have to do a completely new will even if we just add one small charity, with signing, witnesses etc.

Is there a way to have an appendix with a list of such small gifts that we can add charities to without having to redo the whole thing?

Or could we just leave a list with the executor and change this over time?

Slinky

Would it be difficult to put your will into a word document and reprint and get it witnessed each time you make changes? How often are you likely to make changes? Nip next door to the neighbours and get them to witness your signatures the shred the old will?

Keep_pedalling

You can make codicils for minor changes in your wills.

TMSG

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82074435#Comment_82074435

We don't know how often this might happen. There are months and months where we don't find new worthy charities but also sometimes two within a few weeks.

The printing and witnessing as such is not much of a problem and we have a good relationship with next door but it's a nuisance for us and perhaps even more for them.

@Keep_pedalling Yes, we know. But AFAIK a codicil has to be witnessed as well.

And thanks… perhaps someone else has the idea…

Cubicsrube

not a lawyer, so just being creative and quite possibly naive here — but could you specify a certain lump sum or portion, to be distributed to charity at your executors’ direction but guided by a ‘letter of wishes’ you will leave, in which you list the smaller local charities you’ve discovered?

A letter of wishes isn’t binding, AFAIK, but hard to see any benefit to your executors in not following it. And easier to update than the will itself.

(Someone qualified will be along in a moment no doubt to tell me why this is a terrible idea…;)

Keep_pedalling

The easiest solution, provided you have the means to do so, is to make lifetime gifts for smaller charities which is what we do. Another possibility is to leave a fixed sum to charity giving your executors the discretion on how to distribute that money. You could then leave them a list of suggested charities.

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82074503#Comment_82074503

I agree. Particularly as smaller charities are more likely to dissolve, merge etc

silvercar

If X is reasonably short, the chances of it occurring must be small, so I wouldn’t go through the hassle of rewriting your will each time.

TMSG

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82074500#Comment_82074500

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82074503#Comment_82074503

I think this is probably the best idea. We'll put the "big-ticket" items (which will not change much, if at all) into the will itself and also mention that a certain amount or percentage should be distributed to charities on a separate list at the discretion of the executors.

Thank you all for helping out.