Not something that we like to contemplate but if you own a property and especially if you have children you should think about if the unthinkable happens.


If you have then did you go to one of the will writers you see advertised in the paper? I am always wary of them as I don't believe they need any legal training or qualifications.

I had a will written a few years ago by our solicitor and it only cost me £20 ish and he keeps it in his chambers and will no doubt make his money after I have departed ..but then I wont worry too much about it, but at least I know that my kids will be secure with him, and not be screwed by some numpty who just sits and fills in forms.
owdlad.

owdlad, do you have a copy of your will at home?
The reason I am asking is that after the death of a person, a solicitor will do all he/she can to drag out the process, thus making them more money. If you don't have the most recent copy of your will readily available to you and your loved ones - separate from the copy your solicitor has - then after your death there is every chance that the copy your solicitor has will have been "lost" or go missing in some way, thus dragging out the processes for far longer than necessary.
If after the death of a loved one you have possession of their most recent will, you can go straight to your solicitor, put it on his/her desk, and get the process completed in as short a time as possible.
Without your personal copy, solicitors will always take their time, and hence more than their rightful share of your estate.

i am 17 and already have a will, mine includes my virginity though, so the lucky reciever will have a nasty surprise if i've been dead a while when they find me.

Got a free will through the union I am in and original is with my mum so it's safe if I burn to death in house fire etc [nice thought huh ?]

House value should stay way more than the mortgage is and there is a hefty death-in-service benefit. I'm worth much more dead than alive. Who's that going past the window with a knife ? Mother ?! :o

There is no mysticism about making a Will and everyone should make one. You don't need to involve a solicitor at all, but if you die without making one, the following rules (which very few peoplwe know about) apply:-

If you die without leaving a valid Will then the law decides who gets what.

If you have a lawful spouse (ie you are legally married) and your estate is worth less than £125,000 then your spouse gets everything.
If your estate is worth more than £125,000 and you had no other surviving relative (eg children, grandchildren, parents), then your spouse will still get everything.

If you have a lawful spouse, plus children and your estate is worth less than £125,000 then your spouse gets everything. If your estate is worth more than £125,000 then your spouse would get £125,000 and a life interest (ie the right to take interest on the remainder, but not the capital itself) in half of anything over this sum. Your children would get half the sum over £125,000 immediately and be entitled to the other half on the death of your spouse. Should any of your children die before you then their children would be entitled to take their parent's share.

If you have a lawful spouse, no children, but parents/brothers/sisters/ grandparents/aunts/uncles and your estate is worth less than £200,000 then your spouse gets everything. If your estate is worth more than £200,000 then your spouse would get £200,000, plus half the balance. The remaining half goes to the other relatives in this order of priority - parents; brothers/sisters; half brothers/sisters; grandparents; aunts/uncles; spouses of aunts/uncles.

If you are not lawfully married, but have had children your estate will be shared between the children. Should they die before you then their children would take their share.

If you are not lawfully married, have no children, but have parents or have had brothers/sisters/grandparents/aunts/uncles then your estate will be shared equally amongst them in this order of priority - parents; brothers/sisters; half brothers/sisters; grandparents; aunts/uncles; spouses of aunts/uncles. If any of these have predeceased, but have living children then the children will take their parent's share.

If you are not lawfully married, and have no other relatives then your Estate goes to the Crown, ie THE GOVERNMENT although it can be claimed back in the future if someone can provide irrefutable proof that they are entitled to it. This is however extremely unlikely.

It should be noted that these rules on intestacy do not recognise "common law" partners , and that "children" includes natural ,adopted and illegitimate children, but excludes step-children. The figures are correct as at January 1999, but are subject to change.

A simple letter such as 'Everything to mum' as long as it is signed, dated and witnessed correctly is a valid Will.

As I said earlier, you don't need a solicitor to deal with a Will once the person has died - I dealt with my mum's Will earlier this year and all it cost me was the £160-odd Probate fee rather than the hundreds or possibly thousands that solicitor might charge. However, I would use a solicitor to draw a will up if you have either a particularly complicated estate or you think someone might contest the Will (which they are perfectly entitled to do so, ie step children etc) as he can then put other documents in place to safeguard the deceased's wishes. Other wise you could use one of these will making companies (you don't need any legal training to draw up a will as long as you know the rules) or you can even buy software that will do it for you on your own computer.

Don't leave the Will with a solicitor - there is no need - just keep it safe and somewhere fireproof.

Apart from simplifying things for those left behind (see the rules above), Wills are extremely valuable documents for genealogists as they can often give clues as to family links. Once 'proved' Wills become public documents and anyone can look at them through the General Register Office

Originally posted by Saxon
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As I said earlier, you don't need a solicitor to deal with a Will once the person has died - I dealt with my mum's Will earlier this year and all it cost me was the £160-odd Probate fee rather than the hundreds or possibly thousands that solicitor might charge.


I had a proper job done with a first class solicitors - Irwin Mitchell for £60 so I think that I got the better deal.:D

I think you've misunderstood me there Mo. £60 is about the going rate for a Will to be prepared for you.

However the £160 I mentioned before was what it cost me at the Probate Office to 'prove' the Will after my mum died - this is when solicitors usually charge you hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds to deal with the estate and is what I mean when I said you don't actually need a solicitor to deal with a Will after the person making it has died, unless the estate is particularly complicated. All the necessary forms can be obtained online and printed off in PDF format.

I brought one of those packs from wh smiths, filled it in and sent it off to the solicitors, it was very easy, the main reason i had it done was because being a single parent at the time, if i died my daughter would have gone into care unless you have a will stating who should become the childs guardian.
Also i didn't want her father to stand a chance in hell of getting custody of her.

I would prefer to pick a Will Writer on a personal recommendation rather than a random one out of the paper. Might be daft but I'd rather know I'm going to be dealing with an amiable person when I'm talking about personal family matters and the like. Than risk getting someone I didn't feel comfortable with.

Although I'm considering a cost saving option of one of these packs from WH Smiths! Does anyone know if they still do them? Or how much they are?

You can buy the pack for about £5 then I think you send off about £20 to gat all to be made proper and thats it, the one i used was very good, the company is called Foreman Laws, pretty sure they are still available in WH smiths.

But For Know I Have't t Try And Find The WILL To Carry On.

Originally posted by elf
You can buy the pack for about £5 then I think you send off about £20 to gat all to be made proper and thats it, the one i used was very good, the company is called Foreman Laws, pretty sure they are still available in WH smiths.
Great, thanks elf. :)

I have one, got 3 copys - mine / mums / dads homes.
Then they cant dispute anything if i passaway before them and I have my own copy of course.

When you add up your total personal worth and see your worth more in ££ dead than you are alive is a bit weird!
:D

Originally posted by thenewborn
i am 17 and already have a will, mine includes my virginity though, so the lucky reciever will have a nasty surprise if i've been dead a while when they find me.

Hmmm.... I thought you had to be 18 to write one?

If so, I'll get cracking (:D)

Alex

lol where does my my money go if I die?

I'm 17 lol, does it go to my parents?

How legaly binding is a will, if I write one can my parents/relatives override it ?

Originally posted by nick2
How legaly binding is a will, if I write one can my parents/relatives override it ?

that would render the entire practice pointless.
They can contest it (although on what grounds i'm not sure), but assuming that you have a normal life and estate it's unlikely that your will would be overruled.

A few years ago we came together as a family and had all our wills done at the same time. This was a will writing company from Nottingham and they were doing a special offer. They keep the will in storage and it can be altered by me free of charge. I've also got a copy in my filing cabinet which the family know about. Also included with my will is documentation signing my body over to the university for medical training purposes, should give the medical students a giggle and at least any surviving relations don't have the hassle of arranging a funeral or paying out mega bucks even if it is then claimed back off my estate.

Originally posted by WALLBUILDER
Also included with my will is documentation signing my body over to the university for medical training purposes, should give the medical students a giggle and at least any surviving relations don't have the hassle of arranging a funeral or paying out mega bucks even if it is then claimed back off my estate.

lol

I wouldn't do that

The thought of students examining my body when I'm dead....

I might leave my body to the medical students, I won't be needing it afterall and I imagine they don't have that many bodies to practice on.

Originally posted by IanMitchell
lol where does my my money go if I die?

I'm 17 lol, does it go to my parents?

Yes, your next of kin - in your case your mother and father. Or if you lived with only one guardian (i.e Great Granny Maud - then she would get it).

However, if you write a will then it is ensuring your wishes are executed.

Alex

\no keep saying that i am going to get one, i'll leave all my things to animals charities, Guide dogs for the blind, and wild life federation fund.

I have to write a will before I start my new job :|

Quite worrying as I'm only 19 :P

Originally posted by GazB
I have to write a will before I start my new job :|

Quite worrying as I'm only 19 :P

Best to do it as early as possible, IMO.

As:

a) You never know what might happen to you

Alex

you have to write one. What's the job, extinguishing oil well fires?

I haven't written one yet, but I don't have that great a pile of assets to distribute.
My cohabiting partner is specified as the beneficiary for my death in benefit thing from work.

Originally posted by WALLBUILDER
A few years ago we came together as a family and had all our wills done at the same time. This was a will writing company from Nottingham and they were doing a special offer. They keep the will in storage and it can be altered by me free of charge. I've also got a copy in my filing cabinet which the family know about. Also included with my will is documentation signing my body over to the university for medical training purposes, should give the medical students a giggle and at least any surviving relations don't have the hassle of arranging a funeral or paying out mega bucks even if it is then claimed back off my estate.


I think I heard someone say that the uni returned the bits and pieces of the body to the family. Would be best to check if trying to avoid funeral expenses

Hazel

Originally posted by GazB
I have to write a will before I start my new job :|


Are you going to work as a dynamite tester or something ?