If you were me would you have a will ?

I keep hearing that I should write a will. I'm 65 years old , living in a small terraced house in North London (u.k.) together with wife 61 years old and son 29 years old.

The house is worth about just under 300K which is below the inheritence threshold and is owned jointly (tenants in common) with my wife. My total savings are small.

When I die I would wish to leave it all the wife, and any amount to my son that enables him not to pay any inheritance tax.

I guess thats a fairly common kind of family situation, without any additional complications; so I thought it would be fairly easy to get advice on how to write a will.

On google I can get up to 7 million returns on my searches, but everyone I've looked at wants to make money out giving any advice. With plenty of 'a bad will is worse than no will' kind of suggestions, thrown in.

Is the advice that you *should* make a will really applicable to someone like myself? What would be any advantages to having a will?

The nearest I have got so far to creating one is a bit of information I picked up, which says I can just write out roughly as follow:

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This will 'dated' .........by 'john........' of 'address'......

I revoke all earlier wills and Codicils.

I appoint as my executor and trustees my wife 'name'........ and my son .......

I give my Estate and Possesions to my wife ............

If she does not survive me I give my Estate and possisions to my son ......

Signed by ............. John 'my name'

In our presence and attested by us in his presence and in the presence of each other.

Witness 1. signature......., full name ...... address......occupation......

Witness 2. signature......., full name ...... address......occupation......

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Is this really all I need to do? In fact in my situation do I really even need to do this? Thanks for any advice.

Reply to
john mayfield
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Around here, there are laws which prescribe what happens to property when someone dies without a will; it's almost certainly the case where you live.

Since you have some specific ideas about how you want your assets distributed, you might investigate what your local laws say, and if they don't match your wishes, you'll need a will of some sort.

Reply to
Bert Hyman

for the pittance that you will be charged (about 75 quid) it is best to have you and your wife's wills made up professionally, they will think of aspects that you would not think of in a million years. and it will speed everything up when you go.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Here in the states, the will is basically a directive for the probate court. Without one, the court then has to figure out who gets what.

What you should do is, spend a little time in the local library and see how wills are written. Also find out how the law treats estates when no will is present. In many cases, the estate is given to the surviving spouse automatically, then to any heirs.

You may also be able to find "kits" for the UK at a local book store.

Unless what you find on the internet is from a bona fide legal firm, I wouldn't do business with them.

Reply to
richard

I'm not so sure that beneficiaries of a will can be appointed executors. Conflict of interest and all that.

HTH

Reply to
Aardvark

"john mayfield" wrote

It cost me just 70.00 to have a solictor draw up a (fairly complex) will for me.

I think that's good value for money & if you can get a similar deal I'm sure it would be money well spent.

As an aside it might make some sense to leave everything to your wife (assuming she outlives you) as there is no tax liability on transfers between married couples, and for her to make a small (and possibly annual) settlement with your son.

Of course if she dies before you then everything will go to your son, and you ought to specify that in a will.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

"Aardvark" wrote

They most definitely can be appointed as executors, and they are on my will and were on my late father's.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

Okley-dokley. I'll take your word for it, strange as it seems to me.

Reply to
Aardvark

Predictably, everyone tells you that you should have your will drawn up by a solicitor, that this will cost you hardly anything and that it will be money well spent.

I'd say, do it yourself. There are will-making kits available from WH Smith. The draft you prepared (and you quoted in your post) seems fine. It does save your beneficiaries and executors time and trouble and probably money, to have a will that they can take to probate instead of having to apply the intestacy rules.

Those who have complex bequests to make and huge estates that require careful tax planning, probably ought to go to a solicitor to have their complex wills drawn up.

Reply to
The Todal

Yes - you should make and sign a will a.s.a.p.

Given your simple wishes, a will is very straightforward, and what you've drafted above is almost all you need. Clarity and simplicity are the key things. Lawyers often seem to charge to obfuscate.

I would suggest....

  1. Name one executor & trustee, then add "if s/he is unable or unwilling to act, I appoint [ the other one ] to act in his/her place.

  1. Add a bit about any funeral preferences, unless you've dealt with this elsewhere.

  2. Insert "... not survive me by 30 days [ say ] I give the whole of my estate to ..." [ omit "possessions" here, and in the previous sentence ]

  1. Add "signed on the ... [ date ] by ... immediately before your signature. (No need for a date at the start.)

  2. Ensure neither witness (nor their close family) is a beneficiary or an executor.

  1. Although each witness must see you sign (and usually sees each other sign) there is no need for them to see the contents of the will - so cover that bit up if you prefer.

  2. Put it somewhere safe and make sure the executors know where to find it, when needed.

  1. Do the same for your wife's will (inverse, obviously)

  2. If in any doubt, you can buy a "DIY Will" book for a tenner or so. Such books usually cover probate, too, so buy it anyway, for when your executor needs it.

Sounds like you're well below the IHT threshold (and which I doubt will reduce after the election).

No IHT when estate goes to spouse. And double allowance upon 2nd death.

HTH

Reply to
Martin

That would, of course, be in compliance with local jurisdiction laws. I think it is more of tradition that an executor not be an heir.

Reply to
richard

It's perfectly legal, and quite normal for the major beneficiary to be appointed executor,.

tim

Reply to
tim....

I wrote wills for my father and for my mother-in-law. They both sped through probate without a single problem. I have also written wills for myself and my wife and for my children.

For people with simple affairs, wills are straightforward and easy to prepare. £75 for drawing one up (often simply adding personal details to a ready-prepared template) is outrageous.

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

Indeed. The thing *not* to do is appoint your bank or solicitor to be an executor. If you do - then they end up being the biggest beneficiary of the will!

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

I agree 100%. Simple wills for those with simple financial affairs are simplicity itself to draw up - and they are just as valid as those prepared by solicitors and will-writers.

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

Of course they can (I'm in the USA). My mother was the executor for my father's estate in NC and I am the designated executor for hers in NY, when the time comes. I was elected because I'm local and my siblings are not. Since you have to provide documentation of all assets and their disposition to all beneficiaries as well as the gubmint (taxes), "conflict of interest" is irrelevant. If you fail to discharge your duties as executor you could be successfully sued by the other beneficiaries. Unless the estate is huge and/or very complicated the executor just has a ton of paperwork to sign and file. Having a lawyer or other paid person acting as executor is expensive and unnecessary for most estates. That said, every adult should have a will. Period. It will save tons of time and money. Otherwise your estate will have to pay attorney fees and have an extended probate period.

Reply to
tmclone

Why? How can they justify that?

Bod

Reply to
Bod

The same way banks and solicitors justify everything they do.

Reply to
Aardvark

Because they are rip-off merchants. I tried to find a recent newspaper article on the scandal but can't. This blog entry is pretty accurate however:

"Well, I do know that one Bank charges 4.5% for the first £100,000, then

3.5% for the next £400,000, then 1.5% of the balance, £300 for each beneficiary and £50 for each asset over £50. So, if the estate was only worth £200, 000 say, it would have cost over £8,000 with that Bank and I'd imagine that most would be much the same. That might give you some idea."

Outrageous or what? Having executed two wills in recent years, the amount of work required (for simple financial affairs) is not a great deal.

Kev

Reply to
Ret.

john mayfield posted

You should make a will so that (i) there is no doubt about what happens when you die, thus saving everybody time and expense (ii) you don't leave stuff to people you don't want to have it, which might happen if you die intestate.

If you leave your half of the house to your wife there won't be any inheritance tax.

Think carefully before leaving any substantial legacy to your son. Your wife may need all the cash she can find when she gets to old age.

snip

It's pretty much OK. Do it, perhaps with the minor mods suggested by others.

Reply to
Big Les Wade

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