The Great Planning for Death Hunt

toshkininny

Dunkwho wrote: »

I've just poked my nose in here to look for information about making a will. As I'm sure of many people my wife and I have been planning on putting a will together since we bought our first home before we were married (12 years ago!) but still haven't found the time (I know, I know ). With our wonderful daughter wandering around (well, almost wandering around) we feel its critical to get one drawn up now just incase, mainly for guardianship than financial matters. My wife was recommended a soliciter who was talking about £230 for the job which I found amazing ... what is everyone else paying (not a tricky estate\family setup\etc)?

Thanks,
Duncan.

Sorry has anybody said how much an average will would cost? Does it depend on how much information you need to write down or how complicated it is?! (It won't take me long )

Strapped

margaretclare wrote: »

Another point about stepchildren/step-grandchildren - you have to name them, not just write 'my daughter/son' or 'my granddaughter/son'.

Our beneficiaries are 5 grandchildren, 3 of mine and 2 of DH's, and we've had to name them in both our wills, to make sure they all get the equal share we planned for them.

I have to say that (a) I can't conceive of why anyone should want to leave stepchildren out of their will but equally (b) no one should 'expect' an inheritance in any case.

Margaret

Margaret, * I * can't conceive why anyone would INCLUDE a child who has THREE other parents already to inherit from (my husband, her mother and her step-father, the last two of whom have prevented her from visiting since the day they found out that I was expecting our first child). If I die, nothing will change for her. She is not my responsibility. WHY do you think I would include her exactly?

Strapped

Personally, I think it's wrong to leave inheritance to grandchildren anyway. It stigmatises any children you have who either weren't able, or chose not to, have children. It suggests that their only worth was to provide you with grandchildren. And not everyone has a religious marriage either! Also, where did I say that my husband wouldn't inherit? HE can leave whatever HE likes to whomever he likes - I'm not stopping him from dividing his wordly goods between his three children; I'm just choosing not to give away a share of MY children's inheritance to their half-sister (the one with, did I mention, THREE other parents). :mad:

Kaz2904

We had our wills written late, our DD was 2.5 and our son was 6 months.
We wrote the wills the day before I was 26. We got them back just before I was due to go away on a flight for a hen night. I had 2 of the people (brides mum and other bridesmaid) picking me up and made them come into the flat to witness the wills before we left as we'd been unable to get it done before.
They laughed their socks off but could fully understand where I was coming from.
I am down as guardian for my sisters son (I don't think she has a will yet) and DH's Brother and wife want us to care for their children should anything happen to them. We have them down as our guardians and executors.
When we had our wills written we went for lifelong wills because of our age and because we all keep moving so we need to keep changing addresses. So we have saved money by paying the 2k upfront. They also store it and provide legal assistance for our executors. They also provide either of us with legal assistance if we are executors of any wills.

If I was to "Inherit" any children they would be absorbed into our family and would naturally become included financially in our wills.
The only exception is that DH has a ring he inherited from his Dad and I have a ring my sister wanted me to have from her ex fiance. I only accepted it on the understanding that it passed to my daughter when she is older so these rings are allocated in our wills.
If we have extra children added to our family and they have other things then they will be added.
My Auntie and Uncle brought up me and my sister and have looked after us financially for as long as I remember. We have all stated the things we would like from their house. I want the ginger pot that was my grandmothers, my sister wants the welsh dresser so we decided that by default as my lovely cousin didn't state anything he gets the rest!!!!

Strangely enough, when we were kids and he used to say
"Yeah but they're my real parents so they love me more"
we used to reply
"Yeah but they didn't have to have us!"
Funny how kids hate each other but you get an outside family threat and we all close ranks!!!

halia

Strapped wrote: »

Margaret, * I * can't conceive why anyone would INCLUDE a child who has THREE other parents already to inherit from (my husband, her mother and her step-father, the last two of whom have prevented her from visiting since the day they found out that I was expecting our first child). If I die, nothing will change for her. She is not my responsibility. WHY do you think I would include her exactly?

sorry for being obtuse here but I always thought the term stepchild was only used to refer to a child that was your partners from a previuos marriage that YOU were raising.

So in your case then, she doesn't live with you, you dont' support her, and she isn't even allowed to see you, so you have no reason to leave her anything.

However I'm with the first comment that a stepchild in your family is part of the family, just like any adopted kid would be!

btw do you relaly keep yours and your husbands assets that seperate? wow when we got married it was pretty much whats mine is yours and vice versa, okay the violin is mine and the piano + guitar are DH's and there's probably 20 or so books/CD's each that the other one would never in a million years read but 'assets' - they belong to the family.

DdraigGoch

Please don't take offence anyone on here - but I feel that we're rather getting away from the original idea of the thread. It's more about what we can all do to reduce the cost of us dying being passed onto our inheritors, whosoever they might be, isn't it?

I have just got remarried and now need to make a new will. Turns out I need one, OH doesn't, according to the IFA, as the house is in my name.

If I left everything to the children, with the proviso that OH had a life interest in the house and its contents at my death then, according to the same IFA, then the children would pay the tax due, but then OH would be able to live there, use the contents and/or sell house/contents as he chose. Seems a bit odd. But, and here's the big BUT, if he remarried then his use of the house WITH new spouse would be down to the children's say so, as it's for HIS use, not his and someone else's.

Interesting, I thought. Well, we'll see what I do later - but I really must make my mind up... tempus fugit, etc

DG

ginger_nuts

This may be the wrong place but here goes .
My elderly aunt lives on her own .She had no children and her husband is dead .
She was left her house in her husbands will ,but as far as we know she hasnt made a will .

It was in her husbands will that the house would pass to my aunt ,but if she died first it would pass to his brothers/ sisters .

What would happen if she didnt make a will ?

Cruiksl

Could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that unless it states in the husbands will that she only has life interest then it would pass to her survivors. I would check out the husbands will though.

My uncle has left my mum his house in his will but has stated that if she dies before him then it is to go to his great nieces and nephews.

hth

margaretclare

ginger_nuts wrote: »

This may be the wrong place but here goes .
My elderly aunt lives on her own .She had no children and her husband is dead .
She was left her house in her husbands will ,but as far as we know she hasnt made a will .

It was in her husband's will that the house would pass to my aunt, but if she died first it would pass to his brothers/sisters.

What would happen if she didnt make a will ?

I imagine the rules of intestacy would kick in. What her late husband's will stated has happened, she didn't die first so she inherited the house from him. All well and good. She should really make a will of her own.

One of the legal experts can explain the rules of intestacy, I know it's spouse, children, parents, grandparents in that sort of order, but where deceased husband's surviving siblings come into it, I really don't know. She might be treated as having no heirs in which property goes to the Crown (I think).

Margaret

PS to this: I've just found HMRC's Intestacy Guide: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cto/customerguide/page14-1.htm

It's all set out there in detail. When it mentions 'brothers and sisters' , way down the list of possible inheritors, it would be your aunt's brothers and sisters (if any) and not those of her deceased husband.

Auntie really has gotta make a will, otherwise it all goes to the Crown.

HTH

nqsenile

When one dies one's survivors, in England at least, have to pay all the bills before they can access the money you have left them. In the case of Inheritance Tax this might be a large sum which they may well not have "just lying around". So they have to take out a bank loan. This costs. In Ireland the money side of things is dealt with by a solicitor. He pays the bills from the estate and, in due course gives the legatees the balance. A small fee is charged; a sort of insurance against malpractice. Write to your MP asking her/him to pass laws to make this posible in England. The banks will hate you