Do it yourself wills.... anyone done one?

Hi Bags / Ana

Normally most of an estate would go to a surviving parent and then the children if a parent dies intestate.

What my mother objected to was the possibility of her passing away and Dad getting married again and all of the estate going to his second wife.
That is why my parents split the house to a Tennants in Common ownership and Mum left her part of the house to me.

Also I was able to move in to the house when my wife passed away secure in the knowledge that the council could not take the house for any care home fees.
I know Dad could have willed his half of the house to somebody else which could have caused problems but as it is worth about £500,000 I knew I had £250,000 secure.

There is a downside however.
I did hear of a case where a father told a lady he married he owned the house where as his children owned half of it.
When he passed away the children wanted their share of the house immediately.
I don't know what happened in the end but I noticed the house was sold a few months later.
The new wife should have checked the title to the house before she married him and some agreement should have been made between her and his children so she could have lived in the house for the rest of her life.

Frank

You need to be married to your partner for that to work, of course. I know you are, Bags, just saying...

So I don't really understand all these hypothetical problems for families when people die intestate.

DH1 and I tried to do a DIY will yonks ago but because we had owned property in Scotland and were then in England, we couldn't. DH2 and I asked the lawyer who did our house conveyancing if it was worth making a will and she said that if everything went to the surviving partner on the death of one, and if everything was split equally between offspring on the death of both, then there was no need because that's what would happen anyway.

Hi Galen

I really think late in life marriages do cause problems to the families.
I did hear a conversation a couple of weeks a go when an elderly lady said she had met this marvelous rich man who had a very nice house but his daughter was living in it and she owned half of it.
Another lady replied that if she married her father the daughter would have to return her share of the house to him and she would have to leave the house.
I know the situation could have been difficult for the daughter but legally she owns half the house and she would be entitled to live in it.

Frank

Cor! Another eligible bachelor gone!

Hi Celebgran

I do know somebody who has had to change their will at least 4 times in 10 years due to family changes.

When my parents drew up their will my mothers half of the house was going to be left half to me and half to my late wife.
There was a clause if my wife pre deceased me I got the full half and if I pre deceased her she would have got the full half so it did not have to be amended as a result of my mother passing away.
As it happenes Dad made another will after Mum passed away and the house I am in now is half owned by my daughters.
Dad did not want me to get re married and for my daughters to lose their inheritance.
Some of my wife's money was left to them as well.
I will not get married again.
As far as I am concerned the house was built up through the efforts of my grandparents, parents, and to some extent myself.
I would not want any of it to go to another family and we are doing as much as possible to protect it if I have to go in to care.

Frank

My husband and I don't have a will. It is something we seem to put off and put off.

Our family situation is quite complicated (to say the least) and we have our business to consider too. As you say celebgran we probably should do it properly through a solicitor who will know doubt "keep us right".

yes wisewoman that is what we did, made our wills about 10 years ago, since then so much changed in our family we had to pay to have them ammended, but it is so much easier with a solicitor as they think of stuff you don`t it can be a minefield.

Hi Petallus

Have you read what Grannyknot has said on the 18th August 2012.
My mother saw that this situation could have happened in the 90's so Dad and Mum split the ownership of the house into Tennants in Common so they both owned half the house each rather than jointly.
When Mum passed away I got half of their house and Dad still had a right to live in it.
Soon after my mothers death my wife passed away, I was retired early and I went to live with Dad and sold my house.
I got a part time job and Dad did get a lady friend for a few months and she was told I partly owned the house at the start and Dad's half was willed to me so there would be no chance of her family getting any money.
She owned her more modest house.
After a few months she demanded I left but dad spoke up first and said it was not going to happen.
She then left slamming the door behind her.
I don't know if she understood the legal situation with the house but if Dad had all of the house in his name he could have willed it all to her.
The other advantage is if one of you have to go into care the council can not take the childrens half of the house towards the care fees.
In my case as I was living in the house the council could have not sold any of it if my father had been taken in to care but hapily this never happened.
I think if you want to in effect leave your half of your house direct to your children it will be best to see a solicitor.

Frank

Vultures!

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We finally got round to making our wills the other day using a W H Smith pack. The wills are simple ones.

However, we have agreed that when one of us dies, whoever is left will make another will using the services of a solicitor.

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I (we) have a will, but it needs redoing and I will make sure it is as clear as possible around my wishes for my children's inheritance because I've just recently been hearing of one too many cases where wife passes away, husband remarries in record time and children from first marriage are swept out of the way by new wife and/or with new family! Even in my own family (in-laws) when my FIL who had been married to my MIL for 35 years died, his children from his first marriage got nothing, it all went to his wife (my MIL) and when she dies, any inheritance will all go to her children. Doesn't seem fair to me. Maybe he thought his wife would make sure the children from his first marriage got something when the time came, but it didn't happen that way. Not helped at all by MIL slipping into Alzheimers as all this went on.

Penmana, inheritance tax is based on the value of your estate not the wealth or otherwise of the legatee. Leaving money to your grandchildren is a personal decision. It will not reduce the amount of inheritance tax that may need to be paid on your estate.

Cheers PENMANA we are just about to consult a solicitor about making our wills and also Lasting Powers of Atorney. I like l o armed with either facts or a least relevant questions.

PENMANA It is quite common to name replacement beneficiaries should the main beneficiaries die before you (not heard them called reserve beneficiaries). This would not reduce Inheritance Tax. If you have a large estate then I would strongly recommend you use a Solicitor - they would be able to advise you on setting up trusts for your grandchildren which could help reduce the Inheritance Tax liability

PENMANA not heard of this way to avoid inheritance Tax. Are you sure?

We did ours for nothing as the Union did it for us as one of the benefits of membership. If you belong to a trade union or professional association it's worth finding out if they offer this service..

speck123 It doesn't matter if the witnesses to your will die before you, but if the Executors die then you could just make a Codicil to appoint new Executors.

I agree with what most people are saying that it is usually better to use a Solicitor to draw up your will, but it is possible to do it yourself provided your wishes are clear. There is a famous case where a man just wrote "All to Mother" and it was accepted because his wishes were clear - however if you just say "shared between the children" then that can throw up several questions - would you want it to be equal shares, all the children or only some and these days with 2nd families would that include step children.

A risky business , drawing up your own will , for the sake of a bit of money spent with a solicitor

My mother did a DIY will, but it wasn't legal as she'd got a few things wrong. Best use a reputable solicitor.

We made our will a few years ago now using a local solicitor who took part in "Will Aid". I think it happens every November. The idea is that solicitors will make a simple will and you give a donation to charity. It is a good system. Look out for it.

If you make a will through a solicitor make sure you name either all or one executor from your family or close friends.

You only need a will-writen up by solicitors if your family situation is complicated - divorce, children from more than one marriage etc. If there are no complications as mentioned then a W.H.Smith type Will pack should be OK. My wife and I have one of these (15 year old) and will now need to write another.

One of the things that `bugs` me is when the witnesses you use, die themselves - is it better to then make a new will with living witnesses?