AIBU to not want 18 year old dd to make a will yet?

[IslaLucy]

Dd1 is 18 and in her second term at university. She received a very large amount of money for her 18th birthday (about £50,000) as savings schemes that we and her grandparents had been keeping for her since she was born matured. She is very sensible with this money - she has about half of it in an ISA and half in a regular savings account.

Over Christmas, she told us that she wanted to make a will leaving all this money to her sister, our dd2, who is 14 (and who will, of course, receive a similar amount when she turns 18). She thinks that if she was to die ‘intestate’ then the money would go to us (her parents) and it would be taxed as part of our estate when we eventually left it to her sister, but if she leaves it to her sister directly, as part of an estate worth less than £100,000, then her sister wouldn’t have to pay any inheritance tax.

I know I’m being silly and she’s being very practical, but I just hate the idea of her making a will - it seems so morbid. Does she need a will at 18? Are there any legal downsides?

She sounds utterly sensible.

I think she seems very smart. Just make sure she understands that she would need to revise it if she got married/ has children of her own to make sure her wishes are still reflected correctly.

She’s an adult, so yes, a will is relevant.

She sounds very smart and switched on

Very sensible as she has a bit of money.

No legal downsides.

Anyone with assets should make a will. It is the sensible thing to do. She sounds like a very bright young woman and you should be proud of her. It is not morbid at all

The estate size to be free of IHT is £650,000 (I think) for a couple.

You can gift to DD2 at any point, and provided you die 7 years after gift there won't be any IHT to pay anyway even if it is due.

Your DD2 getting £100,000 at 18 is potentially very dangerous, especially as she would already have been thrown off by your DD1's demise. She could blow it all on sex drugs and rock 'n roll, be courted by undesirables after her money, decide not to continue with education/employment etc.

I as a parent would advise your DD1 not to do this at this time.

Her knowledge of finance/taxation is impressive - she should definitely make a will. Do you think she'd mind advising me on my pension arrangements? [grin}

Sounds sensible to me if there are largish sums of money involved.

You've raised one smart cookie. Why is a will morbid?

Essential thinking. Its not morbid, it's very, very sensible and your DD should be congratulated.

The estate size to be free of IHT is £650,000

What I mean is the estate size to pay IHT is 650,000. Up to 650,000 you are free of IHT.

I can understand you not wanting to consider the passing of your child, but I think she is making a very sensible choice. Congratulations to you for raising such a child.

So thus I have no issues with her writing a will, but I don't think leaving it to DD2 to receive at 18 is particularly wise.

Making a will wasn't the jolliest afternoon DH and I had ever spent, but it had to be done, and we were relieved when it was all sorted.

It wasn't morbid though-it's just adult stuff that needs doing, and she's an adult.

Your daughter sounds amazingly switched on. It’s not morbid to plan for something that happens to us all. Unfortunately young people do die unexpectedly as well, she’s very sensible to think about her assets.

She won't pay iht on it - there's no iht unless your estate is above £325k if you single.

She's right about it going to you if she doesn't have a will, but if you are married you only pay iht if your estate over £650k when the second dies. Going up to £1m if you own your home, leave it to kids and die after 2020.

There are absolutely no legal downsides to making a will. It's incredibly sensible and something that every person should do the minute they have anything worth leaving.

Without a will her estate will be distributed according to the rules of intestacy. There is no way around that. By encouraging her not to write a will you're just ensuring that her wishes wouldn't be honoured after her death.

A will is not morbid, it is a necessary legal document for anyone over the age of 18 who has any assets.

It makes everything a lot easier for the family to deal with when a will is involved.

Some families create great problems by refusing to make wills, so I applaud your daughter for having such sense at such a young age.

If you fear that DD2 should not get so much so young should anything happen to DD1 then DD1 could put the money into trust until DD2 is 21 or 25. That trust could still be broken should DD2 want to purchase a house or something.

Whether her concern about IHT is valid or not, her wish to make a will so that the money goes to someone of her choice makes total sense. It is not morbid.

Very good point about dd2 getting 100k as a bereaved 18yo. Maybe you could suggest to dd1 to set an older age when dd2 would get it? Or something like that.

How did you enter that conversation?

"DD... I really would prefer you didn't do anything so sensible, I find it a tad morbid"

You know you are being daft! She is your child, is only 18. But she is a sensible 18. Congratulations on raising such a switched on young woman.

She's a smart cookie! She's also a lovely sister by the sounds of it. Anyone with something to leave should have a will!

She might also look into getting life insurance (it would be very cheap at her age) and name her sister as beneficiary.

I think she’s being very thoughtful and also sensible. Of course as parents we don’t want to consider our own child’s mortality, it’s our worst nightmare! But the fact she’s thought about it tells me she’s a very clued up 18 year old!

Your DD2 getting £100,000 at 18 is potentially very dangerous, especially as she would already have been thrown off by your DD1's demise. She could blow it all on sex drugs and rock 'n roll, be courted by undesirables after her money, decide not to continue with education/employment etc.

Well why not jump from my 'very sensible 18 year old' conversation into a 'her sister will clearly be the opposite'

Bizarre and total speculation. The question was about a will, not about who to leave it to. Plus the sister will already be receiving a lump sum at 18 anyway!