Our finances are not complicated - why do we need to make a will?

[wem]

It's WillAid this month, but DH and I haven't got round to making an appointment yet. I thought the main point would be to say who would get DC if something happen to us both, but I read on a recent thread that it's not legally binding anyway, and the court would make its own decision, possibly taking your wishes into account.

So, we're married, with some equity in the house and a tiny amount in an ISA each. Being married means if something happens to one of us, the other automatically inherits, right? And I assume if both of us die then the DC get everything, in some kind of trust I suppose. Would a will make that process easier? What else is involved?

If, heaven forbid, you both died in a car crash or something, then it's a nightmare if you're intestate - everything passes to the one who died second, gets processed in that estate and only then gets passed on to your DC. If you have wills then they'll have a survivorship clause which means everything goes straight to your DCs - much easier and cheaper.

Thanks, it's always been something I felt we should have got done. Will have to get an appointment sorted.

WEM, the court will only get involved if there's a dispute, which is a rare occurence.

In the normal course of events, appointment of a Guardian will ensure that the children go to that Guardian, it's just not guaranteed if someone else in the family objects.

I'm a will writer and do a lot of Mumsnetter wills. All of my clients have said that they'd be happy to recommend my service. If you'd like to know more, my email address is [email protected]

I think also, that only a certain amount of an estate goes to either the spouse or the dd in the absence of a will. Have a google on the rules of intestacy. I think from memory that for a spouse it was 75k and a life interest in the rest of 125k and life interest without dc.

A lot less than I thought.

tb is right. Under the intestacy rules, if the estate is less than £125k, it all goes to the spouse or civil partner not cohabitee

If more than £125k, then the first £100k goes to the spouse or civil partner, then it becomes slightly more complicated as the spouse/cp can receive the income from some of the rest.

Anyone who isn't married but living with someone should definitely make a will.

Anyone with a child under 18 should make a will to appoint a guardian in case both parents die.

Anyone with an estate more than £125k should make a will to ensure that their spouse, civil partner or cohabitee receives a fair gift.

(btw, if you hold a property in joint names, then usually, the deceased's share automatically transfers to the survivor. This is a good thing in most cases, but not in step families where the deceased's share might perhaps be better held on a life interest to the survivor, otherwise any children of the deceased's first marriage will lose out.)

I know I'm biased as obviously I run a will writing practice, but you can see for yourself on the government's website that it is a good idea!

Having to deal with Letters of Administration is a pain which it is unfair to leave to someone else.

There are both tax implications and inheritance rules, particularly if you were both to die at the same time (for example in a road traffic accident).

There is that, of course. It can take quite a while to sort out an intestate estate.