Making a Will?

[AnnM1]

Has any member of Forum made their own will? We are seriously considering this. We had one drawn up by a solicitor some years ago and have a copy so we know the proforma required. We also have to hand the required terminology, obviously!

We were considering returning to have our current will(s) updated but the quote of £200-£300 seems a bit extortionate.

Am I being a little naive or would you go for it?

Ann

 

[gypsy]

At a certain time of the year, can't remember off hand, but some Solicitors do wills for

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

My father in law died in 1983 and unbeknown to us he hadn't left a will. This left all kinds of difficulties for my mother in law, especially as everything was in his name as they were in those days. She couldn't touch any money or pay bills until everything went to probate and the solicitor said this could take months.

A few days after his death I was clearing out his bureau when I found a will he had made out, he had bought it from W.H.Smith. I showed it to a neighbour of theirs who was a close friend of our family and pointed out it hadn't been witnessed. He said he would sort that and he dated and signed it the same as my late father in law.

We then took this to the solicitors which was accepted and then my mother in law had access to her money.

If you look online you might even find templates for wills or maybe in Microsoft Office which I don't have.

 

[Michael_374349176]

If you are having a will prepared by a solicitor we were advised to set up an "enduring power of attourney" at the same time. What that means if you or your partner have an illness (such as a stroke) which leaves you completely incapacitated then the other can deal with their affairs. My good wife and I did just this last year with either of us and our two children able to act on our behalf in this eventuality. The law was changed last September making this less straight forward but it is worth considering as none of us know what the future might bring. don't know what the cost is now but it was quite expensive last year. I suppose it depends on what assets you have.

Michael

 

[Guest]

Microsoft money has got a will template

 

[Meister]

Dont make a will using Microsoft Money or all your assets will end up with Mr Gates ;o)

Steve

 

[colin(bridgend)]

An alternative to a will is a document "transfer of ....." I cannot remeber the exact name of it but when one partner dies their share of the estate is left to the children. The second partner also leaves their share of the estate to the children and thereby not having to pay the dreaded capital gains tax/death duties or whatever. The problems with this are that should one of the children divorce then the aggreived spouse could make claim on the future inheritance. Therefore a clause to safegaurd this is written into the agreement. Likewise it must also be agreed that none of the children can force the sale of the home until the death of the surviving partner ie they cannot make an early claim on the estate. The third problem is the possible bankruptcy of one of the children. These points would be covered during the drawing up of the document by the solicitor thereby safegaurding the estate until both parents have passed away and the estate can be legally passed on to the children.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Another point with this Colyn ap Brydgynd is if your parent does tranfer the property over to their children, either to avoid paying inheritance tax or nursing home fees it doesn't become theirs for seven years. If the parent needs nursing home care within that seven years then tough, you will have to sell their house. If they also die within that seven years I believe you can still get stung for inheritance tax although I'm not 100% sure on that one because it doesn't affect us..

 

[AnnM1]

I see from Google that will templates are available.

However, as the amendments to our current will(s) are so small: change of surname due to marriage, including grandchildren, I feel that the price quoted is exceptional (

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Lord B. - the type of agreement I am thinking of is a charitable transfer which is generally free of tax. Regarding nursing home costs the Government in 1999 made an order whereby the individual does NOT contribute to nursing home charges. The Local Authority has to meet the remaining costs after the individual's pension has been paid towards those costs. The individual is also entitled to a sum of money "pocket money" of, I believe