How many people have made a will?

[Ohmygodthepain]

Loosely linked to a post where the OP has been told that she is not going to be included in her will, got me thinking about how many people like that go to the effort of making a will, never mind cutting someone out of one.

How many folk do have a will? I made mine when I turned 40, got divorced and travelled for work abroad without the kids - I'm a terrible flier and was so worried about leaving my kids and family intestate.

Fast forward a decade and I've just been dealing with my mum's estate. VERY simple estate - one house, one bank account, bare minimum bills (no mobile, no broadband, gas/electric/water/house insurance/tell us once for council tax and state pension, one private pension etc), only me and my sibling to inherit. She was diagnosed with a life limiting condition a couple of years ago but ABSOLUTELY REFUSED to make a will, or get POA. Fortunately (or rather unfortunately, as things went unbelievably quickly downhill over the course of a weekend) we weren't in a position to need POA nor was it hard to deal with her things once she died, but I imagine it must be so hard for families dealing with very complicated estates, probate, families etc.

So, do you have a will? If you've dealt with a deceased estate would it have been easier with/without a will? Have you had family fall-outs because of a will or lack of one?

I need to get mine updated, my mum was one of my executors.

DH and I are planning to sort a will out. We're mid 40s and been talking for years about doing a will, but not yet done so. It'll basically just leave everything to each other for now (will alter when kids are adults), although DH wants some clause that if I remarry his assets transfer to DC on remarriage. He has a great deal more money and assets than me, and doesn't want it to go to my imaginary second husbands children! 🙄

No. I trust my dh to do right by our children. That's why I married him and had children with him. Unlike many twats we read about here he would always put his children first.

Yes, Will and POA.

Really important.

And IMO a will needs to be for roughly the next 5 years and then reviewed regularly, not made as if you imagine it will not be needed for 40 years when you are ancient.

Marlow Wills sorted ours out, a MN-er solicitor who deals only in wills and POA. Very good service and good value.
I am grateful to my parents that amongst much other chaos they did actually have Wills and POA

If, heaven forbid @arcticpandas , you and DH both die at the same time, do you want your children to inherit everything at 18? Do you think they will manage an inheritance as well then as they would at 25? A will can specify delayed inheritance to 21 or 25 or whatever age you think they'd cope best. I have two very sensible DD but I think a chunk of money at 18 a big responsibility. Who would you want your children to live with?
If, again heaven forbid, you all die together what do you want to happen then? Money to your parents would be what the law says but would it be more helpful to your siblings? DH and I specified sibs in our will as both sets of parents comfortable. Are there any charities or friends that you'd like to gift money to?
A decent solicitor will guide people through all this. I feel wills are really important but then, as I posted earlier, two members of my extended family died intestate and it was very complicated as neither had spouses alive nor biological children whose birth certificate they were named on. It added another layer of sadness to the grief. I urge everyone to make a will, I find it difficult that people think it brings bad luck.

Me when you pay off your mortgage they tell you to get one

My friend was married to one of those nice guys, with 2 children. She died from cancer and he remarried a couple of years later to another widow with 2 children, similar age (invalidating the will he prepared with my friend with provision for their children). He passed away unexpectedly last year and his eldest child, now 20, is busy fighting the stepmum and using much of his (wealthy) dad's money on lawers and court action to prevent step mother from inheriting the dad's business and assets (and thereby putting it into her estate for her children). She has also told them (17y old sibling still at college) to get out of the house as she wants to sell it. My friend would have been distraught.

I did my will and got life insurance in my 20s as soon as I became a single parent. I wanted to make sure DC would have everything planned for them if I died.

Our will basically says if one spouse outlives another then obviously goes to them. Once we both go, equally split between our 2 kids.

we are not going to amend for grandchildren etc as it would be down to my kids to split their portions with their kids if they see fit

What if the surviving spouse remarries? Then there's a risk your kids would get nothing.

We never wrote them as we had noone to take the children. Loosely promised each other not to die before the kids were 18. Fast forward to now and I have terminal breast cancer and am also carer for my mum as well as three kids

It's so much easier to think about when it's an abstract concept and I would urge those who don't to try and get it sorted.

I've now had to draft something quite complicated because of a trust and the likelihood my mum will out live me, it's never as straightforward as you imagine but worthwhile doing and telling people what you want to happen particularly if you are the planner and paperwork person in your relationship

Yes..had one since was 35. Just redone it at 66. POAs up to date. Death book completed. Next of kin know all my plans.

I'm 60 with no will, exdh 65 no will - my parents 82 and 83 no will! Db died last year and basically had nothing but decided it would be easier for our parents if he had a will. He died 5 days after the Will was signed as getting people to witness it in both the hospital and the hospice was impossible. It did make things easier though the Will will probably have to be varied. Dm is particularly resistant to anything that might mean she might lose control of her money! She suspects everyone of being out to scam her.

I don't have a will, neither does my DH. We don't have any assets or savings so I'm not sure what it's for. We have DC but no family who could take them anyway so nothing to put in a will really.

I don't have one. I guess I need to make one because we have a child, but we have no mortgage so would it simply be a bit of paper with a few names of who we'd like to take DS if the worst happens? Can anyone advise what sort of cost we'd be looking at to write that down?

We have a will but we have had a child since so need to update it anyway. I wasn't very happy with the will that was made in the first place as I didn't want a mirror will. My husband and his family are fairly well off and I wanted a significant portion to go to my other family members rather than my husband if anything happened to me. I also wanted my pension arrangements to go to specific people and the Will adviser insisted it will be separate but now with pensions becoming included with IHT in a couple of years that doesn't make sense. It is definitely on my to do list!

Got a will at 30 when we bought our first house. Mirror wills. Updated twice to include each child as they were born. I do need to update again as my dad and step mum are named as legal guardians for my kids but they are getting older and my significantly younger sister is now mid 20s, so the kids will go to her should the worst happen.

Thanks for reminding me!

This happens with depressing frequency. A marriage automatically invalidates an existing will. It happened twice in my own family and I can think of around 10 people I know, just off the top of my head, to whom it has happened. It is extremely difficult to get very far with legal action, given that no law has been broken.

I'm in my 50s. I've got a will and LPoAs arranged a few years ago. I'd been putting it off for ages but the combination of an accident which could have killed me and dealing with elderly PILs who didn't have things in place galvanised me into action. It's something that most of us think we won't need until "later" but things have a nasty habit of sneaking up on you so I'd recommend everyone to do it sooner!

Not made a will yet as DH has a big mental block about it, won't talk about it, and I don't want to go ahead without him.
Just hoping he goes first (but not for a long, long time yet).
If there is no change in the next decade, I will go ahead and do mine without him.
No dependent children.

You don’t need to wait for him. Get on and get it sorted. You might inspire him.

Writing a will when it is not needed is much much better than doing it after a diagnosis or accident.

fir £322000 to spouse remaining split 50/50 between spouse and children if intestate. So if you have a high value property it could be a problem.

Had a baby-wrote a will pretty much immediately. I'te updated it since and DD has PoA for everything. Makes life much easier if something awful happened. I don't understand people who refuse to make a will, we are all mortal.

Seriously, do it now. You don't need to tell him, just get a solicitor to file it. Costs very little for peace of mind.

The ex and I (together 30 years, cohabiting) never got round to it. Separation amicable, and I've now done one.
The interesting thing is that the solicitor said "It's good that you've split everything evenly between your kids" - my thought was well, why wouldn't you? But she told me that this is precisely where some epic family arguments/feuds start! In my innocence, I was genuinely surprised!

Lots of charities have free will writing services.
Try BHF, the RNLI, Shelter......