My dog, my will & my holiday

[StarDolphins]

I wonder if anyone can help?

I have a will. All going to my DD and in an Armageddon situation, all to charity.

I am going on holiday for 4 days with my DD & want a temporary amendment added for these 4 days. Solicitor wants £375 to change it.

Can I leave a signed letter/video of me saying that in the event of us both dying, that I want my ex to live rent free in my (owned outright) house to look after my dog/car until they die. will leave cash in the house for them.

Or is there any other way I can do it that’s cheaper?(given it’s unlikely to happen) Like something online? Seems v expensive but I want to make sure my dog & cat are looked after in their own home.

Christ, you think you're a better driver on roads you don't know than someone who does it every day, possibly many times a day.....

No not for several years! Just cash for dog walker etc while he works.

😂😂

I just don’t get it. Whilst extremely unlikely, you and your add could be killed while driving to the local shop together, so wouldn’t you just make a permanent amendment to your will that in the event of both of your deaths, exDH gets the house while looking after pets. Why limit it to 4 days, when this could theoretically happen whenever you and DD are together. My friends sister was killed when just walking on a sidewalk, car went out of control and mounted sidewalk without warning and killed them. While extremely unlikely, can happen to people in any circumstance, not just on a holiday!

I don’t think there is such a thing as a temporary amendment to a will (IANAL).

The whole point is it is the “last Will and Testament” and supersedes all previous versions.

So you would effectively be making a new Will this week and then another one after the trip.

By the way, my understanding is that, if two people die together and it is not possible to determine who actually died first, it is assumed that the younger survived the elder. So your estate would pass to your DD and would then be subject to her Will (if she has one, it’s unclear how old she is) or pass under intestate rules for minors (assume to her dad as
surviving NOK, but worth checking)

I agree with previous posters, just amend the will permanently.

While its unlikely you and your daughter will die together at any point, it could happen or you could die within a few days, weeks or months of each other. So why not be covered for that?

Just amend the will permanently to say that your ex will get the house and an allowance for the remainder of those pets lives in the event that you and your daughter are both dead.

Thank you! I might do this & leave it with my will. I mentioned something similar to my solicitor at the time & she said for me to just do a letter stating my wishes & leave with my will. This new solicitor wants to re-write it all!

A letter of wishes is not legally enforceable, I believe.

Goodness I go away regularly with my partner (no children) and never once has it occurred to me to get a will sorted for that specific period of time in case of our simultaneous demise!

(Is this a plot for a book, btw??)

By the way, my understanding is that, if two people die together and it is not possible to determine who actually died first, it is assumed that the younger survived the elder. So your estate would pass to your DD and would then be subject to her Will (if she has one, it’s unclear how old she is) or pass under intestate rules for minors (assume to her dad as surviving NOK, but worth checking)

True, but this is one reason why wills often have a clause about leaving things to X assuming that they survive the testator for Y days.

How old is your DD?

This is interesting thank you!

She’s 8

Thank you, I think I will have to do this. V expensive though!

If you were dead, then your ex would only have a right to live in your house if you left the house to
him, I think?

If you left it to a charity with him as a tenant then they would, I am sure, be looking for ways to evict/repossess and sell it. And who would pay for any repairs?

£375 is not expensive in the context of a house and other assets.

Yes he does agree. But only for our current pets as they were his pets too when he lived with us so has emotional attachment to them. They’re both old so then I would have to make another will in a few years.

If you die and your DD does not, have you left money/the house in trust for her and will your ex be the trustee? (Assuming ex is her dad)

I can’t actually remember, I’ll have to get the will out. I know it’s all to her if I die. I will check.

you don’t make another will in a few years, you state in the will “in the event that I die and Fluffy or Fido are living, X happens. In the event of their demise, Y happens”

It certainly is

I think you win the prize for the most ridiculous thread ever on mumsnet.

enjoy your holiday.

How many times a day does that coach journey run and when was the last time it had a fatal accident?

In the nicest possible way, if your anxiety is so severe that you feel the need to rewrite your will for a coach trip I don’t think you should be going on holiday alone with a child! What kind of state are you going to be in on the actual journey?

I think it’s worth a full on review of the various scenarios.

MNer mumblechum is usually recommended for wills and I know at least one single mother who has used her.