General Chat

Some more important points there SueM!!

jude x

I have been on at a friend to do a will for years,and he still hasn't done one.I get so mad!!.I will see him tomorrow and will have yet another go.He should realise how important it is after seeing the the results of my best friend not leaving a will,and the distress it caused to her children.

I don't know about the UK but here in Australia it has been shown that when a married couple die in an accident it can be very complicated if it can be proved that one died before the other. Take this scenario.

A married couple have an accident. The man dies instantly his wife lingers and then dies an hour later. The man has children by his first wife. The couple have their own children plus the wife has children by her first husband. The man who died has left his estate to his wife. Her will says all her worldly goods go to her children. If the man has died first his estate passes to her and then becomes part of her estate. His children would get nothing. Complicated isn't it.

S x

I made a will when my son and I travelled abroad together in 2007, just in case the plane crashed and we both were lost. Otherwise everything goes to him and I have pretty much sorted it out but I know I really need to define things more, i.e. who has my jewellery and if I want friends to have a memento of me etc Had to leave my estate etc to a charity if my son and I went together as no way will I leave anything to my brothers and their wives and one nephew, they have never bothered about me in life or my lad, they certainly won't be benefitting from my death.

Joan, I think you need to find out if you can still be buried in York. I am sure I read that some cemeteries are so full now they are placing restrictions and saying if you haven't lived in the area for a certain time, you are not entitled to be buried in the local cemetery etc Would be awful if neither of your wishes could be fulfilled.

I have told my son I want my ashes put on my daughter's grave but he would have to get permission and there is probably a charge. I must clarify that part soon.
One of my brothers is an accountant so he is down as an executor as he knows what to do having done it so many times in the course of his work. Not what I wanted but had to have someone who knew the ropes as I want my son to get the right support. I think my brother is honest even if he is ruled by his wife, Mrs Bouquet the second lol

Lizxx

we asked the solicitor what would happen say if both of us died in a crash .Was told the law would be if it couldnt be established who died first then the older one would deem to be the first to die and their will would come into operation.If in our case its recipricol wills then mine would come into operation and as Hubby was already dead then i needed to go down the line more to state where my estate went in case too our daughter was deceased too

As an aside to the general discussion about making a will, could I also make another suggestion?

Most of us have a few pounds saved in the bank or banks, premium bonds, shares etc. We have a list of all the bank account numbers, sort codes, premium bond holders numbers etc, with the approximate value of each investment. (As I move money around, taking advantage of bonus interest rates for a year etc, I update the list.) Our son's estate took so long to sort out because he did everything online and we have never been able to get into the records, as they were all password protected.

Hopefully, this will assist our remaining son, or whoever is sorting out our estate. The updated list is printed off and kept with our wills, and our son knows where these are kept. Don't hide the will away, so it can't be found!

Does anyone know, in this modern age of computers, if anyone has put their wishes down on the computer And saved it to disc or memory stick, but has not printed it off would this be classed as a legally binding will?

Do you think that in the future people will put them onto saveable devices then placed at the solicitors with a written document that has been signed by the deceased.

Good point Elisabeth - we do the same + we leave the names of the solicitor who holds the House Deeds & original of the Will, and the names of our IFAs.

Two of my children are Executors and I gathered the four of them together one evening and asked them who wanted what: Stamp Collection, Paintings etc and if more than one hand went up - pulled name from hat.

I have this list printed out, each have a copy - so there will no squabbling.
The Jewellery of value I have already given out - don't wear it anymore, so I thought, why keep it.

The house to be sold and divided equally between them.

Make your Will out early - ours was made at the time we married - I thought it strange at the time, but glad now it was done.

Helen,

I doubt that a will, or wishes, saved to a computer would be a legally binding will.

A will needs to be signed, dated and witnessed by two people - to show that you really did sign it without pressure from anyone.

Maybe in the future, as we get iris recognition etc and computers get more sophisticated, it may become the norm, but not at present.

I'm with Joan - the Government are not getting my money!

Neither are any solicitors! I will not be leaving anything in a trust fund, with solicitors administering it for months, years or even decades. It does happen and they take their 'administration costs' whatever the trust fund is paying out. We have several instances of this in our family.

Sorry to sound all doom and gloom, but if you own property and one of you has to go into Care in later years, or even earlier because of illness or accident, you will be expected to pay the fees, and that could mean having to sell your home/land/assets to foot the bill.
The way the law stands at the moment, is that if one of you needed care, the other is entitled to live in the home, of course, but when they die the home/land/assets MUST be sold to pay the bill.
If you feel so strongly that this is not an option Jean, (as hubby and I do), then you really should seek solicitors advice re ownereship of property. Don't leave it.

There is a way you can protect your property.....and that is in the way that you own it.
Determined that everything we've worked and saved for, is not going to be taken by the Govt. if such a time comes that one/both of us should need to go into care, my hubby and I have taken steps to ensure our property will go only to those we wish, the surviving spouse being allowed to live in the house with no fear of pressure to sell.

Make sure ownership of the property is in both your names.
Or put it in your children's names now (obviously with the clause allowing you the right to live in it for life)!! But beware of the '7 year rule' here, ie don’t leave it too late or it will be obvious that you have done this to avoid paying care home fees, and it can be claimed back up to 7 years in arrears!

Putting it in both names...there are 2 options of joint ownership of property - Joint Tenancy and Tenants in Common, you need to choose the Tenants in Common option. (Don't be put off by the words 'tenant' which has nothing to do with tenancy as we know it). It is a common misconception that a Tenants in Common ownership is only for those who aren't married, ie partners, business partners etc, not so, it is ideal for married couples too. It is the very contract of ownership which can safeguard your property being taken by the Govt for care home fees, whilst also making sure it goes to your children/whoever you nominate in your Will, because your share does NOT pass automatically to the surviving partner/spouse upon your death. Instead it becomes a part of your estate. And in your Will you would have nominated it to go to Tom, Dick and Harry with the proviso that your surviving spouse can live in it until their death.

This is definitely worth considering, and an absolute must for those with children from a previous marriage, where all too often they are seen to lose out on inheritance because of the law.
But you CAN do something about it if you seek a solicitor’s advice and act.


K

Roughly around £160 for double wills. Depends where you live really. Solicitors charge what they can getn away with.

Re Tenants in Common - I looked into this some years ago and there were pitfalls which is why we did not proceed.

Regarding your parents (elderly, passing on their house) ' family house' in their will. Karen brought up the point.

My dad a civil servant ( local office manager ) was very astute financially up to his death at aged 90, and whilst I was initially reluctant to approach him about the subject of transferring the house to my sister and I, I did so.
I knew it was willed to us anyway, and that I and hubby were executors ( my sister lives abroad )

My sister and I are best friends, Dad was beginning to fail in health, my mum had previously had to to go into a nursing home before she died.

I was also a civil servant and knew the repercussions if my Dad had to go into a home what would happen to his house. The state would have first call on it unless we paid privately for his care. ( hubby now works for Social Services and has seen it happen).
Neither us could afford that, it is so expensive
Dad would have been gutted had that happened to his house so he put it into joint names between himself, my sister , I and my hubby' and was not embarrassed or upset me approaching him, he was very sensible in that way:)

Fortunately he didn't have to into any sort of home, and the house came to myself and my sister.
We now may have to pay capital gains tax on the property now it is sold, cos he changed the house into our names..
Tuff on me ! ( hubby is still in work I'm not ). What we didn't have we won't miss
.
But I am MORE than happy that my beloved dad didn't see the Government, in his lifetime, taking the money from his house he'd lived in all his married life and paid full taxes etc etc.
As Karen said check these things out in plenty of time.

Sorry to side track a bit from the thread but it is all linked up with wills .

Sandie

We have also protected our property in
the way Karen explains it.

Emmax

Re my post , Golden Girl and Karen's posting.

Beware ..consult a solicitor.

My nan had 2 properties , one willed on her death to her dau and after her days to her grandchildren, me being one of the 3.
Whilst I had my own home at the time I merely received my share of the proceeds of the eventual sale.. no tax involved.

The 2nd mentioned below or above ( which ever way you look at it ) was left to my dad , who initially willed it to myself and my sister.
He subsequently put our names on the deeds before his death ( my suggestion tho he said he had thought of it before )
As a second 'home' to me I now am liable for Capital gains tax.
As I said before , that doesn't worry me one bit as long as my Dad died safe in the knowledge that the Gov't had no claim on HIS house.

Had dad merely left his house to my sister and I there would have been no Capital gains tax.
I would have just had my share of the house sale.
Gosh knows what the Gov't will put the tax up to for April !! Whatever !!
As long as my dad didn't loose out I couldn't care.

There was never any concern about previous marriages, so dad wasn't concerned about that, but where there could be as Karen said take caution and stipulate your requirements.

Sandie.

Oh yes, I forgot about the dreaded CG Tax.....sorry! But isn't there a clause in CGT arrangements about certain exemptions if it has, at one time, been your permanent home. It is a minefield I admit.
Which just goes to show - seek advice from a solicitor, do some background reading up on the internet - but DO SOMETHING about it!!!!!

K

P.S. Sorry if this sounds a bit cold hearted, it isn't meant to - but ref: the cost of making a Will, which I know is a concern as it isn't cheap.......surely spending out a few hundred quid now must be worth it, compared to the thousands, or hundreds of thousands that could be lost if you don't. A will gives you peace of mind, knowing that your wishes will be carried out prperly, that the Govt won't get their hands on your assets, that your children (or whoever) will receive what you want them to, etc.

I had an elderly, widowed, great aunt who refused to make a will, saying 'well everyone knows what I want anyway'. Yes, they may have known, but because she didn't make a will, her estate had to be divided properly (including the sale of her house), which actually meant that the very people she had hoped to gain most, lost out.

Joan, glad you should be able to rest where you want if not the garden, I am glad you have rights.

Lizx

So many responses on here, thanks. This is great, l have aot to read,
When at Usk county show on Saturday l chatted to a lady who owns a company called:

www.nativewodland.co.uk

she was able to answer a question that really niggled me in connection to cardboard coffins...a friend recently wanted this for a funeral and they were put off by funeral directors, the lady from Nativewoodlands said the choice should have been left to my friend. It was'nt!!! consequently they did'nt keep the deceaseds (sp) wishes.

Have a look at the website, somewhere it gives a form to download where you can write out your funeral wishes!!! Also the sites and areas where these Nativewoodland burial grounds are.

Jude

I don't know if it has been said before on here...but re wills it is not essential that you have a will drawn up by a solicitor...you can buy DIY will forms which are completely legal if witnessed in the proper manner.

These are adequate for 'simple' wills, say where the entire estate is going to one person only, or in the main but with small bequests to named individuals.