Does MIL need a will?

[Blankiefan]

She is 85, lives in a rented council flat, has no assets. Apart from furniture in the flat ( which wouldn't be wanted or needed by anyone in the family), she maybe has a few hundred pounds in her bank account.

Despite this, I think it'll make things easier for DH if she has a will. ,My guess is that being an executor will make the winding up of things easier (eg closing her bank account, informing the council re her flat, etc).

It's going to cause her and DH some discomfort. Should we bother?

Yes, she definitely should have ond

Yes and have you looked into lasting power of attorney? My parents have this set up for me & my brother and they’re in their 60s. Should make making decisions about their finances or health much easier if they need us to do so.

Can you help me with specific examples of what will be made easier with a will?

All estates go through probate, I believe. So having a will and executor makes it quicker.

She can leave any jewellery or bits and pieces to whom she wishes. A Will usually avoids arguments.

It’s sensible to discuss how affairs are to be wound up after death. 85 is old to write a Will and death is now closer, inevitably. If should have been done much earlier. What is the exact problem with discussing it now? Has it been put off for years? The elderly person should make it easy for relatives after they have gone. That’s fair and reasonable.

Not all estates go through probate, depends on value and type of assets.

Wills don’t have to be complicated and does make everything easier.

But power of attorney is definitely a priority

If her estate is very small say under 10k (different institutions have different limits some as high as £25k) you would not need to extract probate. Most institutions will, release funds on production of the death cert to either the executor or next of kin if no will. The fee for probate at the moment is around £200 plus the solicitors fees or the Executor can extract probate themselves. The funeral is the 1st debt on the estate and any money left in the accounts can go towards this so you could give them the funeral account and they will send what is in the account to the funeral director you would also need to produce the death cert?

Yes I meant to say that Power of Attorney would be your priority at the moment

A small estate like that wouldn't go through probate.

As others have said, probate will not be necessary for an estate this small. It may be that there won't be anything left after the funeral has been paid for and any outstanding debts settled. A will would ensure that there are no arguments over who has the authority to administer the estate. It would also ensure that any money available goes where she wants, which may be different from what the intestacy rules say should happen.

I agree with Celticrose that Power of Attorney is the more immediate priority. A will may make things a little easier when she dies but a Power of Attorney may be needed if she becomes incapable of managing her own affairs before she dies.

You don’t need a solicitor to get power of attorneys set up. Just print off forms from the internet and follow the instructions. The most important thing is to ensure the order of the signatories are correct. There are fees but if low income can reclaim these.
It takes about 6 weeks to register them.

You also don’t need a solicitor to make an uncomplicated will.

You can download it. It just has to be completed and signed and witnessed correctly.

It won’t mske a difference if you’re not going through probate. Informing utilities etc will only require a death certificate

Pp said all estates go through Probate. I'm not 100% sure on this. It could be that a very small estate might not have to. There may be a limit. I'm nearly sure that on a small estate a bank etc will accept a death certificate.

Thanks. That's all helpful.

We don't think there will be any material estate as such. We expect to pay for her funeral ourselves (dh has a sister who wouldn't be able to pay for a funeral but it won't cause us any problem to sort it).

Why do we need a power or attorney? What does this allow, exactly? If it's just to sort her affairs, DH would do that (e.g. if she was incapacitated, we'd pay her bills until she was better) the cash for this wouldn't be an issue. Does Power of Attorney help with other things?

Essentially, she and DH haven't had many of these chats yet. He's started the ball rolling with her now. She was a bit upset wgen he vrought it up - didn't think it was needed, doesn't want to think about death. We don't want to cause her any more stress than is required and were in the fortunate position that we can cover any costs ourselves so wonder what is really needed vs best practice.

If she is on a council property then only an executor named in a will can end the tenancy legally. Otherwise notice is served and takes four weeks. If she receives housing benefit or council tax rebate then this stops on the date of death and therefore potentially 4 weeks worth of full rent and council tax will be recovered from the estate. Having a will and executor also means it is easier to deal with closing bank accounts etc. You don't have to see a solicitor if there are few assets - download a will template from Age Uk and get a non related person to counter sign.
Power of Attorney is also fairly simple - it can be for health or for finances or both.

There are two types of power of attorney.
Finances, allows you to deal with all finances either as soon as its registered or when she loses mental capacity to do this herself, pay bills, collect pension, sell any items.
Health and Welfare, if she were to lose capacity it gives you reassurance that you can help decide on what care she gets, where she lives, what she eats, what she wears etc. Without it and if she doesn't have capacity and needs care then it takes a lot longer, it goes through the court of protection, you end up trying to apply for guardianship to make limited decisions.
www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/legal-issues/power-of-attorney/

Just to check the obvious - she doesn’t have a living but separated husband does she? I assume not in this case, but if there’s any lurkers looking at this thread, if you have a parent who is separated but not divorced then they really do need a will as a matter of urgency. For a single widow with two children who are all three on good terms then a will is a very good idea and makes admin simpler but it’s not the end of the world if she doesn’t have it. For a woman separated from an abusive husband or living with a domestic partner, or married to a recent second husband who has his own means and isn’t intended to inherit all her stuff then it’s absolutely imperative.

Do you both have recent wills?
If not then the easiest way of approaching this (without implying anything negative about her age) is to say you're getting yours done and offer to help get hers done at the same time.

If she had to go into a home due to mental capacity issues, then there could be issues paying the care home fees. Banks can freeze accounts once they are aware someone has lost mental capacity. If you have POA you can direct payments where needed.

My DF lost capacity within a space of 2 weeks. We didn't have POA, it was a nightmare. Made a stressful time even more stressful.

It's best she has one - it doesn't need to be written by a solicitor though, you can look online for a guide or buy kits from supermarkets, WH Smith etc.

Thanks all. That's really helpful. We'll get it sorted.

Hope it all goes well OP. My DM refused to let us talk about POAs with my DF when he first became ill with cancer as she thought, wrongly, that it would mean we would take over their finances there and then. You can set the financial one up and register it immediately but stipulate it only comes into force when mental capacity is lost, or you can set it up so that the attorney can help with the finances straight away.

Once my DF lost his mental capacity she agreed for us to set one up for her immediately as she realised how hard it was to organise anything without one in place. We have set it up so I can act now for her if necessary, which has helped with setting up new bank accounts and dealing with utility companies etc when moving house. But she still is in charge of most every day things