We're getting our wills done. A couple of questions..

[DonLewis]

Me and dh are finally getting our wills written.

I have a couple of questions, which we'll ask our solicitor, but she's not available until Monday, so thought I'd ask here first.

Who do you choose to be an executor? Is there a reason it shouldn't be a beneficiary of your will? If you choose the solicitor to do it, is it expensive? Presumably it's paid out of the estate?

We've been sent a list of things to consider like are there any specific items you want to bequeath such a jewellery. I do have some jewellery and I know who I want it to go to. But my MIL has some jewellery that she has told me she is leaving to me. Obviously I don't own it yet, do I include that? (I'm not being grabby here, she mentions it occasionally)

My husbands family are wealthy and alive. If he inherits from them, do we need to change our wills at that point or is there a way to word it that includes it for the future iyswim?

And finally if we want to leave 10% of our estate to my brother and our estate consists solely of a house, does that force the sale of the house?

Thanks

Chose someone you trust to be an executor and who would be willing to do it. You can appoint solicitors to be executors second if the first either die or don't want to do it. It can be a beneficiary but again choose someone trustworthy. Yes solicitors take the money from the estate and there will be a clause in the Will saying they are entitled to charge.

Specific items of jewellery you list such as "Rolex watch to X" or you can just lump it all such as "all jewellery to my sister" etc. The latter would include all jewellery you own at death so MILs jewellery if she dies before you. Don't include what you don't yet own but perhaps you could add a clause to deal with a future inheritance. So if MIL is leaving a sapphire ring don't specifically mention it would be my understanding unless you stated it was not yet owned.

You should re-evaluate your Will at significant points in your life or even it has been a while. You don't necessarily need to change them if they still reflect your wishes but it is good housekeeping to keep them in mind. Certain life events null a Will such as marriage.

When would you like your brother to inherit 10% and who gets the remaining 90%. Houses are trickier depending on how you hold them. If tenants in common then you can leave 10% to your brother. If joint tenants the houses passes automatically to the survivor of you or DH. Also if you go first your DH wouldn't need to keep a provision in his Will to your brother. But as you asked about forcing the sale he'd need to go to a judge to force a sale which would be expensive. If the house is worth a lot of money possibly would be worthwhile but not always. Also if there are minors then he'd have to wait until they are 18.

Really I think you're best speaking to your solicitor on Monday because you have a lot of options which are hard to tell you all about on an internet forum. I'm not trying to sound bitchy but it is more complex than a quick answer can give.

We’ve done this recently and also unfortunately dealt with it the other end of it.

Executors - someone who will basically be capable, calm and willing. Can be the same as beneficiaries providing they’re over 18 and have capacity.

Solicitors charge a percentage of the estate. Good to use if you’re unconfident or want the help and are happy paying for it (not cheap, especially if there will be inheritance tax to be considered as well as that will already be a dent) but if things are left neat and tidy for executors then there shouldn’t be a need. This is providing ofc you can find someone you already know who you’re happy with.

Wording will take account of any future gains/losses in your estate but wills should be reviewed every few years and at every life event anyway.

more complex than a quick answer can give

This. Plus a good will writer will throw you curveballs for things you also hadn’t thought of as well (just in case the process wasn’t enough of a laugh).

@Peanutbutterly thank you.

The complexity is one of the reasons we've put of doing it, but having dealt with the estate of somebody who died intestate I definitely do not want that for my children to deal with!

Currently the house is our most valuable asset and it is worth a significant amount of money. My brother is disabled and it is important to me that he is provided for if I die before him. So maybe that's trickier to sort.

Thanks for your help. I know really the solicitor is the one who can help me, it's just on my mind!

Oh thanks to the others too. My dh is wonderful, but he hates talking about all of this, because he is a softie that cries at the thought of me dying!

Forgot to mention. As well as having a will, for the love of God please have an overview document (somewhere safe and secure...!) and keep it up to date.

This means all accounts, investment, mortgages, insurance policies, utilities providers, pensions, employers, any businesses owned, debts, NI numbers, notes of birth certificates and things like vehicle V5s - anything you can think of. If your executors - whoever they are - have this list to work off, you will make their tasks immeasurably easier at what will be a very tough time for them.

Just seen you’ve already dealt with someone who died intestate so my last post should be redundant. Don’t envy you there.

@UhKevin on the back of that death, I bough a firesafe document thing and have already started filling it with all of that info.

It's been a real eye-opener and made me really determined to not put the children through that. We're also increasing our life insurance.

I can't believe we haven't done it before tbh. What were we thinking? Or rather, what weren't we thinking?

Definitely speak to your solicitor!

Executors - people you trust, definitely. Beneficiaries can be executors (and have an interest in dealing with the estate promptly and cost efficiently usually!) Solicitors will probably charge a % of the estate. Your chosen executors can always instruct a solicitor to act on their behalf/ advise them.

If your brother is disabled you may want to look into disabled/vulnerable persons trust. You could elect to have some of your life insurance going to him instead of your house. Again, speak to your solicitor.

Jewellery etc - you could have a chattels clause and letter of wishes. This would mean you could update the letter if you acquire/ dispose of any items without having to amend your Will. But it relies on your executors carrying out your wishes as they are not bound by a letter of wishes.

A letter of wishes is a good idea anyway especially if you have young children - you can provide guidance in there that you wouldn't necessarily put in a Will.

Interesting as we don’t have a will. DH and I could never agree on guardians for our DDs so time just drifted and now they are late teens and don’t need one.

Would a straightforward case like this need a solicitor? DH and I married, obv, if I die first everything goes to him and vice verce. If we die together the DDs inherit half each.

My only concern would be if DH married again and she had her own children. I would want my DDs inheritance protected from that.

Sorry to hijack OP!

@bigsandyballs2015
It is a mistake to think your husband would automatically inherit everything on your death - the intestacy rules do not say that. You should have wills and take advice.

Hey @BigSandyBalls2015 we're getting mirror wills. It's costing about £300, so not extortionate and well worth doing.

The solicitor is fab, so of course she'll sort all of this out, I'm just pondering ahead of the appointment, I like to be prepared!

This may have been posted before but you should set up Power of Attorney for both finances and health a social care.

I'm currently doing the executor bit for my parents who died a month apart. If there is no will it makes the whole job much more difficult on the person who has to do all of the admin work. I can see on all the forms what you have to do if there's no will, and it really does add extra stress

And it’s bad enough when there was a will and the estate was quite straightforward, tbh.

OP and big, you need to consider leaving things in trust to protect your DC’s inheritance should your DH ever remarry or rewrite his own will if you should pass before him. That’s where mirror wills start to become a bit more involved and costly but it’s essential to remove the risk of your kids losing out.

That's interesting @UhKevin, so a mirror will doesn't do that unless we ask to do it?

No, a Trust Will works differently from a mirror will. We were all set up for mirror wills and costs around the same as you until it was explained. I think the final cost is about £800 total inc VAT but it needs doing. This explains some of it: www.google.com/amp/s/www.lovemoney.com/news/amp/69699/the-danger-of-mirror-wills-and-how-to-protect-yourself

Trouble with simple mirror wills is that your OH could change theirs as soon as you die. For proper protection of your assets to go to who "YOU" want them to go to, you are better with a slightly more complicated will trust, such as lifetime in possession trust for the family home, so your OH continues to "benefit" from you share whilst he's alive, but on his death, your share goes to who "YOU" want it to go it. That means it doesn't end up with your OH's new partner or his family to the detriment of yours.

We need to do ours. Like a PP I keep putting off because I don’t know about guardians for the DC.

I don’t think I have anyone to be an executor. I’d feel bad asking a friend and neither sibling is good at that sort of thing.

You can pay for a professional executor - a solicitor is £1.5 - 3 k, or there are fixed fee specialists like the Co-Op legal

Right, OK. Food for thought then. The children are ours together, so I'm not worried about dh doing anything to their share of our inheritance, but if I want my DB to have his share protected, I need a trust will. Whilst I don't think dh would be an arse to my dB, I've read enough threads on here to see what happens when remarriage happens!

Thanks all. I hope it encourages other people to get theirs done.

The children are ours together, so I'm not worried about dh doing anything to their share of our inheritance

I can say exactly the same - I wouldn’t have any issues for a moment trusting DH to look after our DC’s inheritance and interests. However, life happens. It’s unlikely but what if you have standard mirror wills, you pass away, DH remarries and hasn’t got round to updating his will or has forgotten to?

More likely, what if he doesn’t remarry and has care fees to pay for? A mirror will like this will not protect your share of the children’s inheritance at that point.

I’m not being alarmist but really would strongly recommend talking these scenarios through fully with your solicitor when you meet. If you want your share protected for your kids and DB, you need to use the same approach for both.

Sorry, meant to add then passes away himself to ‘what if you have standard mirror wills, you pass away, DH remarries and hasn’t got round to updating his will or has forgotten to?’

Hi OP, I don't have much advice but if for some reason the executor/s step down then the beneficiaries automatically become the executors, unless an application is made to court to appoint an administrator. I'm sure this is highly unlikely but it did happen to me and I became both the executor and the beneficiary of my mum's will at the age of 23 (!). It might just be something to bear in mind. It was stressful but I could not afford to pay a solicitor to do it (5% + VAT charge) as I wasn't inheriting any actual money, just a house which I didn't want to sell.

If you decide to make your solicitors the executors, then your children will be fine as long as you leave actual money in your will, or they decide to sell the house, as their bill will be paid from the estate. I'd definitely recommend ensuring they can actually afford to pay the bill or choosing someone you really, really trust to be executor.