Have you made a will ?

sorry, a couple of typo's in above - her instead of his ( cant explain that) and a whole sentence that was poorly constructed. I am sure you can make sense of it - with a little common sense.

I have done three intestacies without any help from a solicitor. I didnt have an issue with any of them, so I would disagree.

One thing that does always intrigue me though is how parents think it is OK to treat their children unequally. I have seen it said here that some would leave their money to one child but not another because the other was already wealthy. or that they would split the money three ways so that a grandchild ( presumably the child of one of their children, the other being childless) would inherit. I find that awful.

Even though I do not have a particularly good opinion of my half brother ( the one who is will get my wealth , all other things being equal, if the government do not get it) is that I would never dream of cutting him out in favour of a charity or even a friend or someone else.

I know my father was going to leave me out of her will writing once ( he never got to writing a will fortunately from my point of view) because he thought I had done well in life and didnt need it whereas my half brother did because he had divorced twice, had a son and was strapped for cash.

I felt really terrible - bereft , that my dad ( flesh and blood) would leave me out in favour of another child . This was made worse in my case because the brother concerned was actually adopted. I had never felt animosity toward him or my parent before that ( and I am still leaving it to fate that said adopted half brother will get all) but I did feel hurt by my dads intentions. You may not realise it but leaving your worldly good represents leaving your love and approval to those of us on the receiving end. I didn't mind sharing but the possibility of losing out was hard to bear.

You only need to make a new will if your circumstances change, If for instance you no longer want someone named in your will to benefit, or if they predecease you.
I suppose if your executor dies before you do, you may need to alter your will or add a codicil.

If anything, property, jewellery etc. is specifically mentioned as going to A or B and you for some reason decide to give it away or sell it, then you do need to revise your will.

It's worth taking into account too, that the older we get, the greater likelihood there is of someone saying we were not in a fit state to make or re-make a will, so if dementia sets in a solicitor may be obliged to refuse to alter or draw up a will.

However, I feel we should probably all think about a power of attorney, especially if one is alone, and make sure that our nearest and dearest know whether we want to be kept on life support or not, and are willing to be organ donors or not

I agree fully with Anya and with Nemosmum. (Do people think they are immortal?) I understand that solicitors make far more money from sorting out the estates of people who die intestate, than they ever do from the estates of those who made Wills. DH & both revised our Wills over a decade ago, and did our LPAs some years later. It's a good feeling to know that these are done!

As I understand it one political party is already suggesting this - except they are saying that in fact, there will be no in inheritance at all. What you leave behind belongs to the government regardless. So unless you are thinking your demise will be within the next five years or so, I wouldnt bother. smile

Nobody knows when they will die, do they?
Even my husband didn't and he was suffering from a degenerative disease. It wasn't that that killed him.

durhamjen, I didnt say that but since you cannot comprehend what I did say despite my saying it, quite clearly I think, twice. I am not going to bother explaining it further.

What I mean, Abbey, is that it's a bit silly saying don't bother if you think you are going to die in five years time, which is what you said.
My husband died within six months.
As someone else said, you could get run over by a bus tomorrow.

I know two people who have died recently and had no children, spouses already dead.
They both left all their money to their favourite charities.
Good idea if you have a favourite charity.
With both it was to the heart foundation in their respective countries.

gillybob I am in your situation have no close family and have no idea what to do. So keep putting it off. The only thing I know for sure is that when my house is sold I do not want it to be sold to a Landlord at a cheap price. I would rather a young couple got it at a reasonable price but do not know if it is possible to stipulate that.

It wont matter when you are going to die durhamjen. If the next government change the rules ( and there is a good chance of that) then inheritance will be history.

GillT57 - the thing is I do not have any family - or for that matter friends.

I think it is very hard for those who have families to understand the mindset that comes with being the only one left, or having relatives so distant, you do not know who they are or if any even exist.

I am aware of one relative, who will get whatever I leave regardless assuming they outlive me. That may not be the case. As for the rest I have no interest. I wont be here. It wont bother me.

I have seen far too many wills and deaths be the cause of theft, argument and bitterness anyway.

My late father made a will, but it wasn't done by a solicitor so a vital codicil was left out, one which a solicitor would have warned him about. So do make a will, and do it correctly otherwise problems can arise.

My/our finances are complex as own properties in UK and France ad dc mine from first marriage and dh has no dc of his own. However we have now after much thought and discussion agreed if I die first my 3 dc and 1 dgs will inherit a lump sum immediately and rest to dh who will leave rest to my dc after his death. If he should remarry he will leave 1/2 to my dc. If he dies first a smaller lump sum to my 3 dc and his favorite niece and rest to me. I have photographed each item of jewelry and put a name under each photo to make it easier. We have been discussing for about four months but now agreed.

Unless you are thinking your demise will be within the next five years or so, Abbey?
My husband and I updated our wills in July 2011, when he was 65. The paperwork was sorted in August 2011, he was diagnosed with brain cancer in September 2011, was operated on in October 2011, and died in January 2012.

How does anyone know when they are going to die?

DH and I planned out our wills in a pub in Staffordshire while on holiday a few years ago. The Co-op had a special offer on at the time, and with DH being staff, it seemed like the right time.

A lot of people do not like to face the fact that will die and writing a will confirms that it will happen.
Apparently, there are more people not to have a will than to have one.

Abbey you don't have to make a will leaving an inheritance for family only, you could leave gifts, sums of money or whatever to friends. Surely making a will to direct where your estate is to go is better than it being frittered away by the government? I know it is not that simplistic, but would you rather have say, £50k go to a good friend, or a local charity or to the National Trust for example where your legacy will last and give pleasure to many, or have the MoD spend it on a shell to blast somewhere overseas to bits?

I think more people are now much more conscientious about making wills than used to be the case. In a lot of cases on Heir Hunters going back a long time, a lot of working people still rented their homes and probably did not give too much thought about any savings they had or personal items. Possibly now that many more people are home owners and we are all made much more aware of leaving our affairs in order it does seem strange to believe so many others did not. Also if someone did not have a Next of Kin or did not know if they had any extended family anyway they may have been unsure what to do. Not all people donate to charities ...and I can remember myself in my 20s & 30s there was nothing like the amount of charities around then as there is now. We are now swamped with them. It still makes an interesting programme, and even if a fee is deducted for their work, it is still better to find a heir, than letting it go to the government.

My DH & I made our Wills just before he was going to have a major operation, mine was more complicated than his & I didn't own any property (our house was owned by DH & ex-wife). When we "downsized" we made new Wills to reflect our changed situation, everything going to my DD (his S-D) & nothing to his own DD & S as their DM was much better off than us & she would leave everything to them & their DC. DH wrote a letter to explain why they wouldn't inherit from him.

I really need to update mine now I am Widowed but everything will go to DD & DGSs.

My DD knows where everything is kept if the "bus" gets me, I also need to set up LPAs soon as well.

quEEEniE - the heir hunters are operating a business, so not unreasonable for them to deduct a) the costs of their investigations and b) a fee for the job, surely? In the case you mention the deductions represented more than half the value of the estate, but it would vary according to size of the estate/amount of work involved. Without them, your friend's cousin would have inherited nothing at all!

Do you think if the government made a law that said that they would keep everything belonging to anyone who died intestate, it would make a lot of people suddenly very anxious to make a will?

As I understand it one political party is already suggesting this - except they are saying that in fact, there will be no in inheritance at all. What you leave behind belongs to the government regardless. So unless you are thinking your demise will be within the next five years or so, I wouldnt bother.

It only goes as far as close relatives durhamgen eg immediate relatives of brothers and sisters and then the state does get it!

There is nothing like a will or dying intestate to make even the closest of siblings to become sharp with each other. My uncle left a will fortunately but had told his neighbours that he had left them something and they must have searched the house after he died. They had keys. They also wanted items of his furniture which were polished within inch of their lives( highly carved and decorated overmantel and dresser) the rest was thick with dust which made me suspicious.
Luckily he had left me a letter of his intentions and where he had hidden his savings books. I took a perverse delight in telling the neighbours and saying I couldn't find his Rolex watch or where a small gatelegged table had vanished to. I asked them to give their keys to the lawyers . So please all those who think they will be ok with out a will think again it's difficult enough when there is a will.

My friend's cousin was contact by Heir Hunters about a inheritence from a half sister he knew nothing about. Heir Hunters took over half of what was left from the half sister.

Do you think if the government made a law that said that they would keep everything belonging to anyone who died intestate, it would make a lot of people suddenly very anxious to make a will?