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431 replies

RebeccaEMumsnet · 13/04/2016 15:29

Writing a Will is something that many of us put off, as it’s never a nice subject to talk about and the process can seem confusing, but Which? Wills is hoping to change all that with their online Will writing and Power of Attorney service.

They would love to hear your experience of how you got your Will sorted, or, if you haven’t got around to it yet, what’s putting you off? It would be great to hear your stories of how you decided how you would write your Will, and your tips to those who have yet to do it.

Here’s what Alex Neil, at Which? has to say: "It's important to make a will to ensure that your assets, including your home, savings and belongings, are distributed according to your wishes. It can be very difficult for loved ones to do this if you pass away without having made a will.”

Did the birth of your DCs prompt you to write your Will? Do you think that it’s important to have a Will as a parent, and if so, why?

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Share your thoughts on Wills with Which? Win £300 voucher or free Will! NOW CLOSED
OP posts:
AGnu · 13/04/2016 16:08

We need wills but we have very little time or money to organise one. We'll get around to it at some point... our families are pretty reasonable people mostly so hopefully they'll sort the DC out between themselves if anything happens to us!

ButtfaceMiscreant · 13/04/2016 16:09

We need to make a Will, not really sure why we haven't yet as been married over 5 years. Just one of those things that we haven't got round to, although we have discussed what we would want to happen in the event of various scenarios . We have selected guardians but need to ask them.

I think I will make a note in my planner to book getting the Will sorted with a solicitor, it is too important to keep putting off.

Oceanside · 13/04/2016 16:10

We wrote our wills as soon as we had our first child. We wanted to include what would happen to the children if we died as well as property. As the years have gone one we have updated our wills (mirror wills) to include specific bequests, and recently, now that the children are grown up, have made them executors of our wills. It's massive peace of mind to know what will happen to not only property, but to also include plans for pets.

Doilooklikeatourist · 13/04/2016 16:15

We need a new will , ours was written when the children were small and we wanted to know someone would look after them for us
Now , they're both adults so it's definetely time to change
I want to make sure our children are treated fairly , we need to get advice about inheritance tax , so there's a lot to think about
The inlaws are signing their will tomorrow , they're well into their 70s , and we will be sorting ours out soon

Silvertap · 13/04/2016 16:19

We made our wills after ds1 was born. It was really important as we both have farmland that we want to make sure is kept for our children. Considering they were fairly complicated they were only a few hundred pounds.

WowOoo · 13/04/2016 16:26

We wrote our wills after my husband was ill. All better now, but it was a shock to think what could have happened.

It was actually very straightforward. One of my siblings has specified he'd like a specific item of mine, so i've put that in and made my other siblings aware of his wishes.

Aubasaurus · 13/04/2016 16:33

We haven't written our wills yet, know we should and it's on the (very long) to do list. It's difficult to know where to start.

imsorryiasked · 13/04/2016 16:34

We need to update ours too. I posted a query on MN recently and got some good suggestions.

SmallBee · 13/04/2016 16:34

We need to make wills, but we haven't yet as I don't know how much it will cost or how long it will take. I'm also really worried about finding the right company to do it as you hear all the time about poorly written wills being invalid and I don't know how to choose the right place without just picking the most expensive.

DilysPrice · 13/04/2016 16:35

We have a super-simple will which I drew up myself from a WH Smith DIY kit. Married couple, two children, moderate possessions, no exs or steps, no need for anything more complex. Fortunately we had a single very obvious candidate for guardianship of our DC.

My top tips are
A) Don't let worries over guardianship of DC if you both die stop you making wills to cover you if one of you dies. Unless you are already a widow or your ex is completely AWOL, the odds of guardianship being an issue are tiny, whereas individuals get run over all the time. Sort out the basic will NOW and deal with guardianship by a codicil when you've worked it out.
B) the three people who really need wills are: unmarried cohabiting couples; long-separated married couples who haven't got around to divorcing; young men and women whose fathers absconded in early childhood and left their mothers to bring them up single handed.

CopperPan · 13/04/2016 16:53

We put off our wills for ages as our finances were a mess (debts rather than assets) and we had no idea who to put as guardians for the dc. A distant family member died without a will and they had quite a mess sorting the affairs out, which prompted us to finally sit down and sort it out. It is hard to bring it up with others but we feel it's taken a weight off our shoulders.

Buzzardbird · 13/04/2016 16:59

We really need to get our wills done, we keep saying we'll do it and then we don't get around to doing it.
I need something to push me to do it as it will be so complicated if it's not done. I realise how essential it is. DH, I think, is frightened to do it as it makes him think about his mortality.

purplepandas · 13/04/2016 16:59

We did have wills pre marriage actually. I am picky about these things. We wrote new ones after marriage and children. All done via a solicitor and using Willaid.

purplepandas · 13/04/2016 17:01

And yes, I was especially paranoid to have a will once we had children. I wanted to state wishes re guardianship and make sure that whoever was guardian would be able to access needed funds (e.g. to sell the house) if needed for DCs.

AveEldon · 13/04/2016 17:06

I consider a will to be essential
It still took me 12 years to convince my OH to do his though!

readingrainbow · 13/04/2016 17:12

I have been meaning to get a will sorted for years! It's one of those things that always gets put off for a later date, which is foolish. We have now been married for nearly 15 years and have 5 dc, so we need to get cracking.

Byrdie · 13/04/2016 17:13

I feel pretty embarrassed that i've let sorting out Wills slip. We did actually get a solicitor to write them when we got married... And then never got around to signing them in front of witnesses. Then we had another set written up after we had our first child. She is now 8 and we still haven't got around to signing in front of witnesses. We kept moving house and having babies. Poor excise but it's never seemed important enough - when of course it is important. Ugh. I feel like i should go and dig out the last set and see if it is still works after two more kids. I think there is a bit about future children in there.

clopper · 13/04/2016 17:23

This is something that we keep putting off but shouldn't, especially as my 3 DC have 2 different fathers so it may be more complicated. In the time I've had DC I've witnessed other people's wills and powers of attorney so there is no excuse, I've had plenty of reminders.

LifeIsGoodish · 13/04/2016 17:28

Having dc triggered us to write our first will, purely so that the surviving spouse would have the freedom to use the whole estate as he or she wished, rather than have a substantial chunk tied up as a legacy for the dc. It also triggered us to consider who would look after our dc if we were both to die.

It's horrible to contemplate, but not everything in life is peaches and cream and we would be failing our duty to our dc were we not to plan for their benefit.

lalamumto3 · 13/04/2016 17:31

We made a will when our first child was born, she is now 19 and I have it on my to do list to make another as time has moved on.
We have 3 children, one with special needs so that adds a difficult discussion into the pot.
As our eldest is now an adult, she could in theory be left responsible and in charge of our estate, so we need to be specific with our wishes and how our estate is divided. I would also like to leave some of my estate to charity and again that needs to be written into the will.
It really should be a priority.

somersetsinger · 13/04/2016 17:51

DH and I wrote our wills when we first bought a house together. I've seen what can happen when things go wrong, so it was a priority. They will be rewritten when our first baby is born (soon) and I've already chosen the guardian. You can be sure that they will be needed at some point, so worth getting sorted.

MummyBtothree · 13/04/2016 18:09

I'm a bit ashamed to say that its something that my husband and I haven't got round to yet, despite being married for thirteen years and got three children. I guess lack of knowledge on the whole subject is primarily to blame but glad I saw this thread to prompt me to get something sorted.

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SpaceKablooie · 13/04/2016 18:10

DH and I had our wills prepared when DS was born. We had some savings, and we wanted to make sure that our wishes were known re guardianship of DS if necessary. However, DS is 5 now, and we've bought a house, so we should think about updating them soon. I'm also planning to speak to our executors and guardians again to make sure that they're still happy with everything.

EDisFunny · 13/04/2016 18:11

I have no assets of which to speak, so no contention of what will go where. I've just never been in a position where I think I need one.

hardheadedwoman · 13/04/2016 18:13

Another one delaying because can't decide about the guardianship issue. I should get a move on

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