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Share your experiences of inheritance with Tower Street Finance - £200 voucher to be won

(139 Posts)
LucyBGransnet (GNHQ) Mon 15-Mar-21 09:30:19

This sponsored discussion is now closed. Thank you to everyone who posted below.

No one likes to think about what happens when a loved one passes away. Talking about inheritance - who is going to be left with what in a will or indeed who is going to be left out of a will – can make most people feel uncomfortable. But these are important conversations to have, because navigating your way through the legal process of an inheritance after a loved one has passed away can be stressful and confusing.

With this in mind, Tower Street Finance would like you to share your experiences with inheritance.

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The loan is repaid from the estate funds once probate has been granted and the estate is ready to distribute. There is a 2% origination fee (capped at £1,500), which can be added to the loan, and a fixed yearly interest rate of 19.6%. Interest roll-up is capped at 30 months.”

Have you spoken to your loved ones about what inheritance you plan to leave to them? If you haven’t, is there a particular reason why? Are you expecting to receive an inheritance? Do you know how long it takes to receive your inheritance? Do you know if you will be liable for an inheritance tax bill? What would you do if you are faced with an inheritance tax bill – this is 40% of the overall estate? Have you ever wanted to dispute who benefited from a will?

Whether it’s about the inheritance you’ve planned to leave loved ones or you’ve received an inheritance from a loved one, we want to hear all about your experiences with inheritance. All who post on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky GNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

GNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

Annapops Sat 20-Mar-21 13:14:42

My mum left my sister and I a little money when she died. My husband has also been left money from a half brother who died having had no family of his own. I have written my will as has my husband. Our children will benefit.

Tergly Sat 20-Mar-21 13:18:18

The road to an inheritance is usually a bumpy one - I think inheritances cause disagreements between family members.

Flakesdayout Sat 20-Mar-21 14:26:38

My Dad died in 1999 and my mum thinking it was her turn next prepared everything. She was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2016 and as I had started to see a decline in her before her diagnosis I prepared Powers of Attorney with myself and sons as Attorneys. . She had a large metal box under her bed which had everything in it which I would need in the event of her death. I prepared her funeral and pre paid for that and as her wishes were clear, arranged all the details including the hymns. Her Will was there too. I had to make a decision on her health when she was admitted to Hospital and as much as it was awful at the time it was in her best interest. She left her property in equal shares for my brother and myself and some cash in the Bank for me and some inheritances for 3 of the 4 grandchildren, so I made sure the 4th had the same. I completed the Grant of Probate and drove to the office to register it myself and it was a reasonably quick process. Now I have made my own Powers of Attorney and Will. I will hopefully leave an inheritance for my children and it will probably be over the threshold if it stays the same as it is now but I plan to look into that. As I have had a nasty illness I felt that I needed to do these things.

NINGALOO Sat 20-Mar-21 14:29:39

I had to resolve my parent's estate as neither left a will. At a painful time its the last thing you need - I would have appreciated a list of what they wanted to happen and would have happily followed it. I've made a will. I think especially if you have kids, leave a will. Families are bereft at this time, they dont need the hassle of trying to sort out your finances too,

Cabbie21 Sat 20-Mar-21 16:22:58

Yes I have made a will but it probably needs updating, as does my husband’s, as he has acquired a share of another property.
I inherited a decent sum of money from my parents most unexpectedly as we didn’t think they had much money and their house needed a lot doing to it. Since then, I have managed to save double that amount. It took about 6 months from the second death to receive payment.
We did Enduring Power of attorney some time ago but probably need to do the more up to date LPA.
There should not be any IHT to pay, but with us each having children from previous marriages, our estates will be rather complex and may take time. One problem will be that the children of the first to die will have to wait for their stepparent to die to inherit their half of the proceeds of the property. I have e informed my children briefly but I don’t know how much my husband has said to his. One of them is vulnerable and is on benefits so there could be problems there.

greig23 Sun 21-Mar-21 07:28:34

Never had any inheritence or likely too either lol we dont have much money in our family

Katie59 Sun 21-Mar-21 08:55:07

Do tell your family what is going to happen when you die, especially if you have re married, plenty of families have really bad relationships because dad or mum has a new partner
Only give away what you can afford don’t put your own security in jeopardy.

elinor Sun 21-Mar-21 10:04:45

We've already put in place new wills whereby whichever one of us dies first, their half of the house goes to our son with the other one of us being able to live in it.

burwellmum Sun 21-Mar-21 10:44:53

I haven't inherited anything except for £100 from my grandfather.
I have a will - my children don't know the contents - but it needs amending in any case as I recently separated from my husband.

corbin1 Sun 21-Mar-21 19:46:16

i have no experience, my parents both unfortunately have no equity in the form of a house only some minor savings and insurance policies.

Jill2Gillian Sun 21-Mar-21 21:02:09

We have inherited from my inlaws, since the pandemic putting affairs in order has been a priority, our daughter will inherit everything we have with a percentage going to charity.

Knopflerfan Sun 21-Mar-21 21:15:36

Having worked as a solicitor I have had experience of the mess and grief that can result when someone dies without a will.

No-one enjoys thinking about their own death, but you do need to make a Will if you have family or friends (or good causes) that you love —- it’s quick to do, doesn’t cost much and will avoid so many sad times (and potentially financial loss) for them.

I used to tell clients “just do it and then foil ‘em all by living to 120!” —- damn, now I’ve given away my secret plan. Sorry, kids!

buckleycat Sun 21-Mar-21 22:40:39

I have no experience of inheritance & am interested to read the experience of others. The only slightly related experience I have is that a friend left me a legacy in her Will, & the Will was subsequently disputed by her estranged daughter. My friend's daughter had refused to have anything to do with her for as long as I had known her & it is something which caused her a lot of pain. It's obviously something she had discussed with her solicitor prior to her passing, as the challenge to the Will was not successful.

jollo Mon 22-Mar-21 09:20:35

I made a will about 20 years ago, when the kids were small.
Haven't thought about it since, probably should.

pamelacook Mon 22-Mar-21 10:01:59

Have received three inheritances now, from parents, inlaws and, most recently my aunt for whom I was both Executrice and sole relative. In every case I have been horrified by the Solicitors charges, which substantially reduce the inheritance and the length of time one has to wait for all the paperwork to be finally completed. One tip for others: instead of appointing a Solicitor as one of the Executors, just appoint family members (if poss) who can then themselves employ a Solicitor to help with some of the necessary and then the Solicitor's fees will be much reduced!

marymod Mon 22-Mar-21 12:12:13

I have PoA for my mother and glad of it as I can protect her interests. It is however, due to her personal circumstances, much more work than I'd envisaged. I don't know what's in her current will and just hope I'm complying with her wishes.

chedley Tue 23-Mar-21 07:51:38

My Dad died about 15 years ago and asked my Mum to share his money/sale of home between the 3 of us, as he lay dying and knowing he had not left a will. My Mum was still married to him at the time although separated for many years as she lived with someone else. She took many years to tell me she was not giving me the money., saying I had done something horrible (which I had not). She has given it all to my sister.

zoeypma Tue 23-Mar-21 11:07:27

I've thankfully not experienced anyone close passing away. My mum has made her will as her new husband is 20yrs younger. My husband and I havent made any plans yet and hope oneday we will have children to be able to leave our inheritance to

grannyactivist Tue 23-Mar-21 16:47:25

I have never received an inheritance and I don't expect to receive one. I have no money to leave and my half of the house will go to my (10 years younger) husband when I die. In turn he will leave the house and any money (!!) to our adult children.

Jinty64 Tue 23-Mar-21 17:12:50

My mother was very organised and left everything split between my sister and myself with all documents neatly filed in a shoe box. Dh and I are doing likewise. It’s slightly more complicated with us as dh has (adult) children from a previous marriage but we both have wills and hopefully there will be no problems once we are gone.

theresacoo Wed 24-Mar-21 10:35:41

I have a will and power of attorney set up.
My Mother wouldn’t leave a will and it was left to 7 siblings to sort out.
Caused a lot of stress.

Took nearly 2 years from start to finish.

Echame Wed 24-Mar-21 10:38:48

My parents never bought a house as they married during war time and thought it might be bombed with no reparations entitlement, so they never had anything to leave myself and brother. I have a very modest house and no savings to speak of but have made a will automatically leaving it all to my son.

Rowsie Wed 24-Mar-21 10:50:58

I think this is a difficult subject. I made a new will and decided to leave my son 50% of my estate (I don't have a lot but I have a house) and then the other 50% to be divided between my 3 grandsons. I felt this was very fair but when I told my son he seemed hurt that he wasn't getting it all! He said he would have given the grandsons some but I just thought it was nice for them to get it direct from me. I also made my son the Executor but lately think this might not be a good thing, he is quite sensitive and I think he might be too upset to do it so I might change that but the 50/50 split is staying.

Fflaurie Wed 24-Mar-21 10:52:00

My mother stubbornly refused to give POA, she also stubbornly allowed me to buy her flat. I explained that if she needed care everything would go to the care home/council, but her 'friends' all said it would never come to that. Sure enough it did and the council got everything, there was nothing left for me except ongoing debts. I learned from that, we have made our wills, written and signed an advanced directive, given each other POA and paid for our funerals in advance. I will not put my daughter through the 10 years of heartbreak I went through when mum was in the home and I had to battle with every department that exists to deal with her affairs as I didnt hold POA, although they were all happy to accept my cheques.

gulliver12 Wed 24-Mar-21 10:53:18

When my mother died I was her executor and did probate myself using the Which? book available at the time. I was amazed to find I could do as I pleased. As an only daughter I was able to amend the gifts so that people my mother had excluded for idiosyncratic reasons would still get the small bequests she had made to most female neices and neices-in-law. She had made these because she had been so delighted when her childless aunt had left her something. The chap who did the probate explained, when I asked, that I could indeed do what I liked unless someone who thought they should have benefited objected after requesting to see the will. I find this amazing. When I asked to see my Godmother's will I found the same rules don't apply in Jersey where she kept a lot of her money and that I could only see the part of the will relevant to me. Arcane area.