Does my will seem fair to you?

[ouipamplemousse]

I am single, childless and writing my will.

This is my family:

My mother (father passed away). She’s in reasonably good health and a secure financial position (although by no means wealthy).

Half sister A (shared our father) is 62, recently retired, financially comfortable, mortgage paid off, married and adult children flown the nest.

Half sister B (same parents as Sister A)is 58, single and childless, not especially well off financially, but has recently paid off her mortgage.

Then there’s me (41, single, childless)

And my younger brother, age 33 who is a full sibling. He is also single and childless, not yet a homeowner, trying to save up for a house deposit. He works in the charity sector which he is passionate about, but is unlikely ever to earn a big salary.

Despite all us siblings being spread apart in age, we are close and all care for each other dearly. I am also close to my three nieces and nephews, who are similar in age to me and my brother.

My next of kin is my mother, but if I leave everything to her, then it will eventually pass to my brother, and nothing will go to my half sisters or nieces and nephews.

So I’m thinking of splitting everything three ways, equally between my three siblings.

However, I feel awful not leaving anything to my mother, if I should die before her.

I also wonder how my younger brother would feel, given that he is my full sibling, much younger and comparatively speaking needs the money much more than my older sisters.

I know there’s no right or wrong way to make these decisions, but what do you think would be fairest way to do it? I just want to avoid any disappointment or hurt feelings, should the worst happen.

Thanks.

I'd split everything 3 ways because leaving everything to your mum might mean it being used for care home fees.

Your mum has a house and is financially well off so my main priority would be to see my brother right. Can you leave him your house and split cash between your sisters?

My estate isn’t worth much really, I only bought my house 5 years ago so still have a big mortgage and not that much equity. By far the biggest chuck of my estate would come from my in-service death grant. That, combined with the house equity and savings, if I died tomorrow, might add up to around 200K

At risk of sounding crass, are you ill OP or is this an if it accidentally happened tomorrow scenario? Because statistically, you will outlive your Mum anyway as well as probably your older siblings. To be honest, if I was 41, single and had no kids, I'd go crazy with my will and leave most of the money to something I was passionate about and leave myself a legacy that way.

Why don’t you speak to the people concerned? If you feel your brother, as a full sibling, is entitled to more than your half sisters, leave half to your brother and a quarter each to your half sisters. You could also make an individual bequest to your nieces and nephews,- say, £1,000 each, or whatever seems appropriate depending in the size of your estate, if you want them to be remembered in your will.

Honestly it's not occurred to me to leave anything to my parents in my will in case I pre-decease them.

Your sisters are better off financially that your brother because they’re considerably older. In another 30 years, your DB may well be as financially well off as they now are. In all likelihood, they may well also be dead!
I would split it 3 ways equally, with the proviso that if your sisters have predeceased you, their 1/3 is split 50.50 between your DB and the DSs children.

Haha! I’m not ill, but my friend who is a solicitor has been nagging me to make a will ever since I bought the house, and I’ve been putting it off because I’m finding it hard!

Thank you, that seems like a good idea.

I'd leave half to the brother and a quarter each to the half sisters. They could choose to pass it on to nephews and nieces if they wish.

I would leave nothing to Mum, a small legacy to sister 1 and 2 ( eg contribution towards a fun holiday), some to dear nephews/nieces ( eg a contribution towards a flat deposit or partly paying off uni fees), some to charity ( whatever you think appropriate), and the bulk to dear brother. But please communicate in advance. At least you all sound together as a family. My distribution looks very different!

Don't leave anything to your mother, that would be silly. Inheritance should be passed down the generations, not up.

I would split it equally between all 3 siblings or leave half to your younger brother (because he doesn't own a house whereas your half-sisters own theirs outright) and 25% each to your half-sisters.

If older half-sister dies before you, her share is split between her children.

If younger half-sister dies before you, I would say that a 25% share should go to older half-sister (or her children if she dies first) but a 33% share should be split equally between your brother and older half-sister (or her children). In both scenarios the other two siblings end up with half each.

If your brother dies before you, his share would be split between your half-sisters.

Do also consider leaving some money to charity. I believe there are inheritance tax advantages if you do it, and it's just generally a good thing to do!

I’d leave half to brother and a quarter each to the half-sisters, with provision that if any of those gifts fail and they have children then the children would take the share their parent would have inherited.

Nothing to mum. She’s unlikely to survive you, doesn’t need the money, and may use it all for care,

I’d split it 4 ways, 25% to mum, brother and both sisters.

Me too, knowing that your brother would get your mum's share.

I was thinking the same.

Also means equal shares between your 4 “people”.

He wouldn't necessarily get it though; if OP's mother outlives her, anything OP leaves her could be used for care home fees, as several PPs have already pointed out. Or she could spend it on other things!

So am I honestly the only one who would donate it all to having an entire wing of the library called "The EconomyClassRockstar Wing" filled with bad murder mystery books?! 😀

I don't think your in service death payout will form part of your estate, that's paid directly to whoever you've stated as beneficiary, regardless of the will. Or at least that was the case for DH

I mean, that is tempting now you mention it! 😂

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts, it really helps to hear what others think. I will tell my family what I’m doing before I write the will, but I don’t think I can really ask them for their advice because they might say different things, and then that will make the decision harder! I feel like this is on me to decide.

Ah okay, thank you - I must check that.

Very sorry about your husband @Gardenyear x

I wouldn’t do it based on financial position as that can change - eg divorce, ill health, and over time your brother may be in a better financial position.

I’d just do what seems most fair, given your family relationships. Either 1/3 each or 50%/25%/25%.

Or moreover you'd hope that DB would get mum's share in that event.

I'd give a 1/3rd to the brother and divide the rest between any nieces/nephews/great nieces/great nephews around at the time of death.

Neither your sisters or mum are likely to still be alive at the time of your death and they are already stable financially.

I'd leave 50% to my brother, and 25% to each of the two half sisters.

The sisters are older and would not need as much help establishing themselves in life as they will be nearing their elder years. Your brother is just starting off.

When my sister died suddenly, (not married and no dc), the 'Death in Service' went into her estate and was distributed as part of the estate in accordance with her will.