writing a will

[Profpointy]

Get a will, it doesn't matter how good your sister is, if you die without one, you are intestate and the government takes over and you'll have more legal bodies involved than you can shake a stick at - having no money is irrelevant, and your sister will then have a load of pain and trouble to deal with as well as you dying. Get a will and its easy

did I say get a will yet?

Whilst there's good reasons to write a will, the government does not take over. If you are intestate, ie no will, it simply means everything follows a preset set of rules, wife, children, nephews, all in a set order and proportion, which might or might not be what you want.

 

[laurence]

Whilst there's good reasons to write a will, the government does not take over. If you are intestate, ie no will, it simply means everything follows a preset set of rules, wife, children, nephews, all in a set order and proportion, which might or might not be what you want.

also... if you get married AFTER making a Will then that Will is invalid.

Scotland also has forced heirship - any 'issue' have a right to a proportion of the moveable estate, even if they are not included in the Will.

the Institute of Legacy Management website has lots of good info on probate.

remember, where there's a Will there's a load of relatives waiting to sue.

 

[StuAff]

I wouldn't have thought it would be worth much - possibly auctioned on Cycle Chat and the proceeds put toward a slap-up feast at the Madeira Cafe. Or a round of Slags at LMNH

I wouldn't be so sure it's not worth much- a C50 frame went for over £1200 on eBay last week....

PS: It would fit me. Just saying

 

[StuAff]

I had a will drawn up a decade ago by my solicitors- easiest way to ensure the relative I don't want to get anything, doesn't...

 

[Manonabike]

I also need to write a will. My father was a lawyer and he gave me some ideas on how to write it. I have his will to guide me by but the law in my country of birth is different than here so I will have to figure out how I do it.
What is the threshold for inheritance tax? I think I read somewhere that it was about a 1/4 of a million.

My will is not complicated..... I want my share of the house to go to my children but they cannot dispose of it until my wife dies. My wife will do a similar will too. If there is another property which I expect there will be as I have inherited it myself, that can go to my children right away. I don't own anything else of great value but quite a few things of great sentimental value. For example I have amongst those things a gold coin that my father gave me when my mother die, I had it value at over £500 a couple of months ago but it's worth to me more as a sentimental value so I will pass it on to a grand child I think.

 

[laurence]

I also need to write a will. My father was a lawyer and he gave me some ideas on how to write it. I have his will to guide me by but the law in my country of birth is different than here so I will have to figure out how I do it.
What is the threshold for inheritance tax? I think I read somewhere that it was about a 1/4 of a million.

My will is not complicated..... I want my share of the house to go to my children but they cannot dispose of it until my wife dies. My wife will do a similar will too. If there is another property which I expect there will be as I have inherited it myself, that can go to my children right away. I don't own anything else of great value but quite a few things of great sentimental value. For example I have amongst those things a gold coin that my father gave me when my mother die, I had it value at over £500 a couple of months ago but it's worth to me more as a sentimental value so I will pass it on to a grand child I think.

the IHT limit is currently £325,000. gifts to a spouse don't qualify for IHT, so they don't count towards that limit. any ligetime gifts you have made in the last 7 years will reduce that limit (if you have given a child £5k then that amount will be taken from your threshold limit)

you would need a reversionary Will with your wife as the life interest and the children as the beneficiaries. your wife can make a mirror Will or you can both make mutual Wills, the latter means that the survivor cannot change the Will after the spouse's death.

the inherited property can be gifted to your children... there are ways around paying maximum IHT with post-death variations, trusts, etc. best consult a solicitor on that.

when gifting a property remember to add wording to gift the property currently lived in and/or subsequent property (a solicitor should be able to do this properly). if you gift your current property and move, then that gift will fail. also, if you gift the property and die and then your wife moves, unless the wording is clear, the gift to the children will fail.

the best bet is to look for a solicitor that specialises in probate, although many now claim to to get more business!

the WWT (and many other charities) are having a free Will month... here's their ad to give you some idea
https://www.wwt.org.uk/support/leave-a-legacy/will-month/

 

[ColinJ]

This discussion has made me reconsider my plans. My estate would be relatively small once my debts were settled so I have decided to concentrate on helping one person rather than spreading the money more thinly.

I have spoken to one sister to explain my thinking and will tell the other one over the weekend.

However, if I ever pull my finger out and make those millions on t'interweb then I will change the will to help the rest of my family and a few selected friends and charities.