Have you written a will?

[FangsForTheMemory]

I mean a properly put together, signed and witnessed will, copy lodged with your solicitor? I'm asking because when I bought my first home, my mortgage broker gave me a very stern lecture about writing one, and I did it. However the number of people who don't write a will amazes me.

YABU = no I haven't written a will
YANBU = yes I have written a will

@heymammy

Ex dp and I wrote wills with our solicitor when our first child was born in 2003 but the solicitor has lost it!

That dc is nearly 18 so I'm thinking of writing another will with eldest dc as Guardian of their siblings (with their permission of course)

How much would a pretty straightforward will cost? Solicitor did it for a "special price" of £500 back in 2003

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/free-cheap-wills/

Yes and it’s reviewed every 5 years or so

No

I know that I should do, as should DH but I’ve not got round to it. I have however finally taken out life insurance (last year courtesy of covid) and emailed the docs to DH so that’s one good thing I suppose.

I’ve not exactly got much of an estate, but I suppose I should get it sorted out in case I win the lottery and I’ve suddenly got plenty to leave!

I have made several wills, and if I go off people, I make a new one cutting them out.

I've written and rewritten my will as the first was 25 years old and I wanted to make changes to it.

Those who say "I have nothing" - please write a will anyway since dying intestate is a massive pain in the arse.

@ilovesooty

Yes. Needs to be signed and witnessed though.

In that case the correct answer is "No".

Brilliant @DeathByWalkies, thank you! Just signed up to complete a Which? will for £83 including legal review...but it was so simple I can't have mucked it up

@ChewtonRoad what do people who have nothing put in their wills?

DH and I have a child but no property and no savings. So we don't have a will because I have no idea what we'd put in it. I'm concerned that we should have one however.

Thanks for starting this thread @FangsForTheMemory, kick up the arse that I needed.

I also have a life insurance policy and I'm fairly sure the beneficiary is still ex-dp so I will look at changing that tomorrow.

I feel smug

No but the intestacy laws work fine for my circumstances.

Yes. I hadn't bothered. But I'm a frontline HCP with a high Covid age. I did an emergency online will at the start of the pandemic, and got a couple of colleagues to witness it. I wasn't the only one.

Yes I have.
And having had to deal with the estate of someone who didn't - please do.
Relying on intestate law will yield a result eventually, but please think of the people you would leave behind. They will appreciate you doing something that will help them at a really difficult time. And they will know, and legally act on your wishes.

Yes we wrote wills when we committed to each other in our early 20s, after first house purchase, before marriage and children. We are 30 now and I keep meaning to check it through to see if we need to get it updated, but by and large it should still reflect our wishes.

Yes. Given the palaver I had to go through getting things sorted without a will following the deaths of my parents, I am taking zero chances. Also, it stops abusive family members getting their hands on anything.

Yes. And POA sorted out too

Yes

It doesn’t need to be lodged with a solicitor though - as long as people know where it is that’s fine. I gave a copy to the people nominated as executor

I work for CAB and get some many clients with issues after someone dies without a will and/or lost wills. So unnecessary when it’s relatively easy to get it sorted

@Brokenrecord3006 your will can say who you would like to look after your child if you both died

Yes.
Mirror wills.

My worry was providing for my kids, providing for each other should one of us die.
We are now completely secure and have full say and control over every legal aspect.
It’s a relief.

what do people who have nothing put in their wills?
Saying one "has nothing" isn't always accurate, as even my own "nothing" was more complex than I thought.

I own no property, don't have children, and plan to spend my modest savings on myself. But I have a few possessions I'd like to be given to specific people, and if there's any money left I'd like the named beneficiaries to have it along with a couple of donations to charity.

It's seven pages of A4 to say "divide these things between A, B, and C" but I hope that will make things easier for those who have to sort my tiny estate out after I'm gone.

SO . . .

who has got around to it since I originally posted in April?