Have you made a will ?

I did have a will but it had been made many years ago and was out of date so I started afresh earlier this year and also added two Power of Attorneys. At least if I am admitted to hospital one of the POAs can access money legally for me because it costs a fortune applying through a court.

I made a will about 10 years ago. Do they become "out of date "? Do they have to be renewed, even if you've not changed anything?

yes and it includes everything that we want for funerals etc ,the solicitor gave contact cards to the executors and to my chidren and they will contact him as soon as we've died .No point in working your socks off for 50 years to let the government take it all ....especially not THIS government where it wont be spent how I would want

We made mirror wills some time ago but as my H has a diagnosis of dementia I don't think we can change his.
If I die first the house will go to him and all go for care costs. I intend to make a new one leaving my savings and personal possession to my children.

Chewbacca my will was out of date because my personal circumstances had changed. Do not waste your money if zilch has changed and you do not want to change anything.

The only thing with an 'old' will would be checking that the executor details are up to date

Yes!

I think the other thing is making sure that executors / heirs know where the will is stored, and destroy old ones!
You also need to be aware, for instance 'to my grandchildren Topsy & Tim', or 'to my grandchildren'.

Most solicitors advise against leaving very specific sums of money or properties because it can cause problems as circumstances change.
My grandfather made a will when I was young, in which he left me £250 - which would, at the time, have been a 25% deposit on a very nice house in our village. He left his house to one of his sons, and £1000 to the other. When he died, 50 years later, his house was worth £250k! Fortunately the brother sorted it out amicably; and his love and support gave me a good start in life, so a nice memento was all I wanted.

I have made 4 wills in my life: a DIY when I was young; used a solicitor when I had children, to appoint 'testamentary guardians' and ensure money was available for them; another DIY when they grew up; and now another with a solicitor so we could arrange inheritances for GCs.

Yes, we have but it seriously needs uupdating. We did it when the children were born. It states that if we had all gone together my brother's children would have inherited but we have the GC now.

Yes, once we had children, and then updated when they grew up, and now updated yet again last year.It’s expensive to do but worth it to know that it’s all in place.

Yes and we have both just made new ones as we have just bought a new house. We also did tenants in common, and included the DGDs

It's free wills month starting from tomorrow.
They are not really free. You agree to give what you would be charged to a charity, but it's a good idea.
Only certain solicitors will do it.

DH and I keep talking about writing a will but never actually get around to doing it. Ours seems very complicated and we really don't know where to start.

Recently updated ours with a local solicitor who has been helpful and knowledgeable, encouraged us to think about a lot that just hadn't occurred to us. We are producing letters of wishes to go with the Wills about details of funeral and particular personal possessions. Her advice was, as it is our belief our family would honour our wishes, to do that rather than include too many specifics in the Wills as it's easier to record changes of mind should they occur. A weight lifted when the Wills were signed as the old ones were woefully outdated. Gilly if you look at local solicitors online most give an outline of their services we emailed the two we liked the sound of who sent us their fee list. Not too expensive here. A solicitor will help you clarify your thoughts and advise on any potential difficulties.

Go to a solicitor then gillybob Our wills were a bit unusual but the solicitor sorted it all out extremely well. A load off our minds, and not too expensive either

We didn`t bother about wills for years, but then last year, when my husband was ill and we knew he wasn`t going to get better, we contacted a solicitor, she came to the hospital to draft the wills, then back a few days later for us to sign them. They were simple, I left everything to him and he to me, then after that to our children. My husband died 2 weeks later, and I had to go to the solicitors office for mine to be changed, everything now being divided equally beween our 5 children when I`m gone. I also didn`t cost anywhere near as much as I expected.

Yes mirror wills but only recently due to circumstances but we are lucky as very straightforward

I suppose some people just assume that everything will go to their spouse if they die, but that's not the case. It's also more expensive and time-consuming for the family to sort things out if you don't leave a will.
I have just made a new will, now that I am widowed, and I am making sure my two daughters know where it is and what it says.

Mine is lodged at the solicitors offices, along with the house deeds.

In the process of doing it, I am estranged from one of my two children, which has broken my heart, she is in a much better financial situation than the other, but still going to leave everything between them as I love them both as much as I always have. Just hope that the one who has always been there for me understands.

Some people are clueless about inheritance. My co-grandparents are estranged from their son and want everything to go to their daughter (my DiL) and her family.

I've explained time and time again that this will not happen unless they make a will, but they just keep repeating 'but everyone knows what we want'.

My dad and mum made theirs themselves , it was a very simple one.
My husband and I have done the same. Cost nothing but it is very straightforward. If you have special wishes or circumstances then a solicitor may be needed.

We have, and recently updated them, but I thought the other day that dds don't know where they are, or where the assets are. I thought of this when Dh and I were off on holiday - what if Something Happened to both of us?

Once she was widowed and in her 70s my mother had a small briefcase where she kept a copy of her will, plus info as to where her savings were, spread around in various accounts, with details.
In the end she developed dementia and my siblings had P of A, but it made it a lot easier for them.
Another thing she left there was a letter to us all, written pre dementia. It was really lovely to read it once she was gone - it was like having our previous mother back again, since when she died she hadn't recognised any of us for quite some time.

Chewbacca. Wills don't become out of date but it is a good idea to review them regularly. Check people's addresses, that they are still alive, that you still like them, that you still want the same trustees/executors etc. If you have a substantial estate there may have been changes in the law to consider etc.